In a curious case that unfolded at the Allahabad High Court’s Lucknow bench, a man who hurled corruption allegations at High Court judges found himself fined ₹2,000—not for the audacity, but for criminal contempt.
The story began nearly a decade ago in 2016, when one Devendra Kumar Dixit fired off a complaint, alleging that judges of the High Court had accepted bribes to toss out his writ petition. His chosen recipient? The President of India. How that letter made its mysterious way into the High Court’s hands remains unanswered, and Dixit, now older and still bewildered, insisted he never meant for it to land there.
But land it did.
A bench comprising Justices Vivek Chaudhary and Brij Raj Singh wasn’t amused. They ruled that Dixit’s wild claims “scandalised and lowered the authority of the Court.” While his statements fit neatly within the definition of criminal contempt, the judges opted for leniency—partly due to his age, partly because this was his first brush with contempt law.
The result: a modest fine of ₹2,000, to be paid within a month to the High Court’s Senior Registrar. Default? One week of simple imprisonment.
Dixit, undeterred, had demanded a copy of the forwarding letter from Rashtrapati Bhawan, hoping it might save him. But the Court wasn’t biting. They’d already heard him admit to writing the complaint, so what purpose would the envelope serve?
“Inventing false charges against the judiciary, and then pleading for paperwork to support it, doesn’t wash,” the Court essentially said, as they delivered the verdict on March 24.
To seal his fate, Dixit didn’t even submit an affidavit of apology. No olive branch, no remorse—just allegations and a failed strategy. He was represented by Advocate Indra Bhushan Singh but also appeared in person, standing by the complaint that ultimately led to a penalty, and a courtroom lesson in restraint.