The Bombay High Court has issued a contempt notice to Dilip S. Ghumare, Secretary and Senior Legal Advisor in Maharashtra’s Law and Judiciary Department, after the Court said he reacted aggressively and allegedly shouted while responding to questions about the creation and filling of 179 posts for Fast Track Courts.
A division bench of Justice A.S. Gadkari and Justice Kamal Khata passed the order on September 1, 2026, in an interim application arising from a 2013 public interest litigation.
During the hearing, the bench referred to its earlier order of August 24, 2026, and an affidavit filed by Ghumare. The judges questioned the State’s Additional Government Pleader about the specific statements in another affidavit claiming that 179 new posts for Fast Track Courts had been created.
When the Additional Government Pleader could not give a clear answer, Justice Kamal Khata asked Ghumare, who was present in court, to identify the relevant averments. The Court recorded that Ghumare hesitated before being asked who had drafted the affidavit and whether it contained the necessary statements.
According to the order, instead of answering the question, Ghumare responded in an aggressive and high-pitched manner, which the Court described as bordering on shouting. The Court recorded that he blamed the High Court administration and stated that the administration was responsible for not filling the 179 posts.
The bench said such conduct, displayed publicly in the courtroom, had undermined the authority and dignity of the Court and appeared to constitute contempt within the meaning of Article 215 of the Constitution and Section 2(c) of the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971.
"All litigants, whether in civil or criminal matters, are expected to maintain decorum and respect the sanctity of these proceedings. This expectation becomes imperative when the person in question is himself a judicial officer."
The Court noted that Ghumare was a senior judicial officer and had previously served as Principal Secretary and R.L.A. in the Law and Judiciary Department. It said his position did not give him any privilege to treat the Court with disrespect.
When the hearing resumed later in the day, Advocate General Dr. Milind Sathe declined to defend Ghumare’s conduct but requested permission for the Court to accept his apology.
The bench, however, said such conduct by a judicial officer in open court could not be condoned merely through a subsequent apology. It referred to the Supreme Court’s decision in Re: Vinay Chandra Mishra, reported in (1995) 2 SCC 584.
The High Court consequently directed the Registrar Judicial-II to issue notice to Ghumare under Chapter XXXIV, Rule 9(1) of the Bombay High Court Appellate Side Rules, 1960, also referred to in the order as the Contempt of Courts (Bombay High Court) Rules, 1994.
The notice asks him to show cause why contempt proceedings should not be initiated against him. It has been made returnable on September 11, 2026. Ghumare was personally present and waived service of the notice through the Advocate General.
The matter was accordingly stood over to September 11, 2026.
