The Karnataka High Court at Bengaluru has sentenced advocate H.P. Sabjan to 15 days’ simple imprisonment in a suo motu criminal contempt proceeding arising from statements made during the hearing of a criminal appeal. A Division Bench comprising Justice D.K. Singh and Justice H. Shanthi Bhushan passed the order on September 18, 2026, after finding both charges framed against him proved.
The contempt proceedings arose from an order passed by the High Court on September 15, 2025, in Criminal Appeal No. 1054 of 2018. The earlier order, which was reproduced in the present proceedings, recorded that during the hearing, Sabjan had alleged that the trial court had passed its judgment by “match fixing.” The Court warned him against making such statements and informed him that the conduct could amount to contempt. Despite the warning, the allegation was persisted with, following which the matter was directed to be placed before the Chief Justice for appropriate action.
The matter was subsequently registered as Criminal Contempt Petition No. 2 of 2026. When the case was listed on September 10, 2026, Sabjan stated that he would file an affidavit tendering an unconditional apology for his conduct and the letter in question. However, when the matter was taken up later, he stated that he wanted to contest the contempt proceedings and was not willing to tender an unconditional apology.
In his statement of objections, Sabjan alleged that the September 15, 2025 order passed by the High Court was “false, fabricated and forged.” He further alleged that the contempt proceedings had been fabricated to prevent him from continuing as the advocate for the appellant in Criminal Appeal No. 1054 of 2018.
After considering his response and the earlier order, the Bench framed two charges. The first related to his statement that the trial court had passed its judgment by “match fixing” and his alleged persistence with that allegation despite the Court's warning. The second concerned his statement that the September 15, 2025 order of the coordinate Bench was false, fabricated and forged and had been created to falsely implicate him in the contempt case.
When the charges were put to him, Sabjan submitted that his “match fixing” allegation was directed towards the Investigating Officer and the Public Prosecutor. The Bench noted that this was not the position he had taken in his statement of objections filed in response to the contempt notice.
With regard to the second charge, he described the allegation concerning the September 15, 2025 order as a “typo mistake.” The Court, however, noted that he had not offered an unconditional apology. After considering his submissions, the Bench held that both charges were proved.
The Court stated, “We therefore, find both the charges proved against him.”
Considering the misconduct and the demeanor of the contemnor before the Court, the Bench sentenced H.P. Sabjan to 15 days’ simple imprisonment. It directed that he be taken into custody forthwith to serve the sentence. The Registrar (Judicial) was also directed to issue the conviction warrant under Rule 16 of the High Court of Karnataka (Contempt of Court Proceedings) Rules, 1981.
The Registry was further directed to furnish a free copy of the order to the contemnor and communicate the order to the Bar Council for appropriate proceedings regarding whether he is fit to continue his profession.
Case Title: High Court of Karnataka v. H.P. Sabjan
