“The appellant is a practicing advocate. Plea taken by him that he had been misguided by other advocates is an afterthought. He must have been fully aware of consequences of what he has written,” the court said.
It said the apology means a “regretful acknowledgement or excuse for failure” and it should be “unquestionable in sincerity” and it can be rejected if offered belatedly to avoid the punishment.
“However, an apology should not be rejected merely on the ground that it is qualified or tempered at a belated stage if the accused makes it bona fide. A conduct which abuses and makes a mockery of the judicial process of the court is to be dealt with iron hands and no person can tinker with it to prevent, prejudice, obstructed or interfere with the administration of justice. There can be cases where the wisdom of rendering an apology dawns only at a later stage,” it said.
An apology cannot be a defence, a justification or an appropriate punishment for an act which is tantamount to contempt of court, it said.
The court reduced the fine imposed on Giri from Rs 20,000 to Rs 2,000, but asked him to surrender and serve one month's jail term.
