Supreme Court stays contempt conviction of woman who alleged judges are part of ‘dog mafia’

The Supreme Court on Thursday stayed a Bombay High Court order that had held a woman guilty of criminal contempt and sentenced her to a week’s imprisonment for circulating a housing society circular referring to judges as part of “dog mafia.” [Vineeta Srinandan vs. High Court of Judicature at Bombay on its own motion].A Bench of Justices Vikram Nath and KV Viswanathan sought response of the State on the woman's plea and stayed the High Court order directing her arrest. The contempt case arose out of a circular issued by Vineeta Srinandan, then cultural head of Seawoods Estates Limited in Navi Mumbai, amid a legal dispute between the housing society and dog feeders. After the High Court passed an order against the society for denying access to a house help who fed stray dogs, Srinandan distributed a circular on January 29 among over 1,500 residents alleging that stray dog feeders were being shielded by courts across the country and claimed there existed a “dog mafia” with support from the judiciary.“Now we are convinced that there is a big Dog mafia operating in the country, who has a list of High Court and Supreme Court judges having views similar to the dog feeders,” the circular stated.Taking exception to the tone and content of the letter, the Bombay High Court held that it amounted to criminal contempt, scandalised the court and undermined public confidence in the judiciary.“It cannot be believed that when the contemnor undertook such contumacious writing, she was not conscious or could be said to be unaware of the consequences,” the High Court said in its judgment dated April 23..The High Court refused to accept the Srinandan’s apology and opined that it lacked genuine remorse. “Such apology, in our opinion, is merely a weapon in defence with an impression that the contemnor can get away by such recitals,” it noted while imposing a punishment of one-week imprisonment and ₹2,000 fine..Srinandan then approached the Supreme Court seeking to overturn the contempt conviction and the sentence. With the top court’s order, the High Court’s punishment has now been put on hold, pending further proceedings..Srinandan was represented by Senior Advocate Dama Seshadri Naidu along with Advocates Yash S. Vijay, Pranjal Agarwal, Dixita Gohil, Kms Sivani, Anisha Mahajan, Deepak Sharma, and Shikhar Aggarwal. .[Read Order]