Saket Building Collapse: Delhi High Court Orders Deletion Of Additional Videos Targeting Judge
· Free Press Journal
Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Friday directed the removal of additional videos uploaded by Dr Kapil Kakkar after finding that he had continued to make allegations against a sitting High Court judge in connection with the Saket building collapse that claimed six lives on May 30, according to Bar & Bench.
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The Court noted the new content despite an earlier order requiring the deletion of similar videos and the blocking of Kakkar's social media accounts, the report added.
Court Responds to DHCBA Petition
A Division Bench of Justices Neena Bansal Krishna and Madhu Jain passed the order after the Delhi High Court Bar Association (DHCBA) informed the Court that Kakkar had uploaded additional videos repeating the allegations, Bar & Bench reported.
The Bench was told that after the High Court heard the matter on June 8 and ordered the blocking of Kakkar’s social media accounts and removal of videos against the judge, he uploaded further content with similar allegations, the report said.
New Allegations and Fundraising Plea
Senior Advocate N Hariharan, appearing for the DHCBA, said that in the new videos, Kakkar also stated that his account had been ordered to be blocked and urged people to follow his personal account. The advocate further stated that Kakkar sought monetary donations from people, according to Bar & Bench.
Court Questions Deterrent Effect
The Court further questioned whether its orders were serving as an effective deterrent against such conduct after examining the videos. “What do we do with social media? In every single case, the courts have come down heavily, but is it acting as a deterrent? This is becoming increasingly common. What do you do with individuals who have chosen to go absolutely haywire? There are so many cases where people have been sent to jail, don’t say we have been kind,” the Court remarked, Bar & Bench reported.
Previous Orders on June 8
On June 8, the Court had directed the removal of videos and social media posts by Kakkar in which he called the High Court judge a “murderer” and blamed him for the deaths in the Saket collapse. It had also ordered the blocking of his X, Meta and YouTube accounts, according to Bar & Bench.
DHCBA Files Criminal Contempt Petition
The DHCBA filed a criminal contempt petition against Kakkar for allegedly making scandalous and disrespectful comments about the judiciary and a sitting High Court judge, which led to the order.
The DHCBA stated Kakkar had wrongly alleged that the judge had dismissed a petition to halt illegal construction at the building because of a corrupt nexus with municipal authorities. The Bar Association argued that the court order quoted by Kakkar allowed withdrawal of the petition with liberty to file a fresh one as the property owner was not impleaded, Bar & Bench reported.
The petition reproduced some of the statements of Kakkar in his videos where he had allegedly called the judge a “murderer”, accused the judiciary of corruption, and urged citizens to “rise against such injustice", the report added.
The DHCBA argued that these remarks were intended to undermine public confidence in the judiciary and interfere with the administration of justice.
The plea also claimed that Kakkar continued his criticism by posting additional videos on June 4 and 5, linking the judge to an unrelated civil dispute involving ICICI Bank and implying a corrupt relationship between judges and corporate entities, according to Bar & Bench.