New Delhi, Feb 24 (NationPress) The Delhi High Court has expressed serious concern over the threats issued by a contemnor during virtual hearings in a criminal contempt case initiated following a reference from a district judge. The court cautioned that such behavior could lead to the "compounding of contempt".

A panel comprising Justices Navin Chawla and Ravinder Dudeja noted that despite clear instructions mandating his physical presence, the respondent, Adeeshwar Singhal, chose to participate via video conferencing instead.

“The respondent, despite our orders for his physical attendance, has failed to show up in person,” the order dated February 19 stated.

The Bench, led by Justice Chawla, further remarked that although the respondent attended the hearing virtually, his behavior during the session was unacceptable.

“While he participated in the proceedings online, he issued threats to the Court. We take strong exception to this and have warned the respondent that this constitutes compounding of contempt,” the order elaborated.

The Delhi High Court mandated strict adherence to its previous directives, once again instructing the respondent to appear in person at the next hearing, indicating that coercive actions would ensue if he failed to comply.

“We reiterate our demand for the respondent to appear physically before this Court on the next hearing date; otherwise, we will have no option but to implement coercive measures to ensure his presence,” it added.

The court has also appointed senior advocate Dr. Amit George as amicus curiae to assist in this matter and instructed the registry to provide him with a copy of the documentation.

Importantly, the Justice Chawla-led Bench ordered that from the upcoming hearing, all proceedings be recorded and preserved “awaiting further directives from this Court”.

This case has been scheduled for further hearing on March 23, 2026.

The contempt proceedings were initiated following a reference made in April 2025 by a Shahdara district court judge, alleging that Adeeshwar Singhal had made “scandalous and derogatory remarks” against the judicial officer during virtual hearings and persistently disrupted the session despite repeated warnings.

In May of the previous year, a Bench including Justices Subramonium Prasad and Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar had issued a notice to the contemnor to explain why contempt proceedings should not be initiated against him for making “contumacious statements” directed at the District Judge.

Further hearings noted ongoing non-compliance with the directives for personal attendance.

In an order dated November 6, 2025, the Delhi High Court issued bailable warrants after the respondent refused to appear in person and allegedly referred to the proceedings as “stupid”.

Following this, in December 2025, the Delhi High Court directed the issuance of Non-Bailable Warrants after observing that he had used “derogatory and contemptuous language” against judges and had to be removed from the video-conferencing session.

On January 8, 2026, the Justice Chawla-led Bench was informed that the Non-Bailable Warrants could not be served as the respondent was reported to have left the country, prompting orders for authorities to file a status report on efforts to locate him and ensure his presence.