Delhi HC accepts S Gurumurthy's apology, discharges him in contempt case
New Delhi (PTI): The Delhi High Court Thursday discharged S Gurumurthy, the editor of a Chennai-based Tamil news magazine, in a 2018 contempt case for his tweet against a judge after accepting his apology and "deep remorse".
The high court closed the contempt case filed by Delhi High Court Bar Association (DHCBA) against Gurumurthy.
"After considering the facts and circumstances, we accept S Gurumurthy's apology for the subject incident and consider it appropriate to discharge the show cause notice issued to him in the present contempt petition. He accordingly stands discharged," a bench of Justices Siddharth Mridul and Gaurang Kanth said.
During the hearing, the counsel representing the DHCBA submitted that the apology expressed by Gurumurthy and his statement that he has highest respect for judiciary, and in all humility he is truly sorry for any offence that may have been caused, be accepted as having purged the alleged contempt.
The court also noted that Gurumurthy had earlier appeared before it voluntarily and expressed remorse.
"Sometimes the cure is worse than the disease. Unnecessarily dragging an honourable judge's name in all the controversy, it is reported all the time.
"You think we rely on newspaper reports and tweets for our dignity? As we have said it in many judgments before, out dignity rests on a surer footing. We are not dependent on criticism, fair or unfair, for our dignity," Justice Mridul observed orally.
The DHCBA had filed the contempt petition in 2018 after Gurumurthy posted certain tweets against Justice S Muralidhar, then a judge of the Delhi High Court.
The high court had earlier dubbed as "mischievous" his tweets in connection with the judge's decision granting interim protection from arrest to Karti Chidambaram, the son of senior Congress leader P Chidambaram, in the INX Media money laundering case.
Gurumurthy's lawyer had earlier said the tweet was deleted after the high court took cognisance of the matter.
He had submitted there was no intention to commit any contempt and Gurumurthy had even appeared before the bench which was then hearing the case.
In April, Gurumurthy, the editor of Tamily weekly magazine Thuglak, had refused to file another affidavit tendering an unconditional apology for his tweet after the court observed that the 2018 affidavit did not contain any apology.
In October 2019, the high court had dropped contempt proceedings against Gurumurthy in another case for having re-tweeted an article against Justice S Muralidhar.
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“Bleeding on the road, I begged for help but no one came”: Bengaluru woman recounts husband’s death
Bengaluru: A woman in Bengaluru has shared a painful account of how her husband died after they were repeatedly denied medical help and ignored by passersby during a medical emergency, NDTV reported.
The victim, 34-year-old Venkataramanan, a garage mechanic from Balaji Nagar, developed severe chest pain around 3.30 am. His wife immediately took him on a motorcycle in search of medical help.
"He complained about chest pain, and we went to the first hospital. However, the doctor was not on duty. At the second hospital, we were told he had a stroke and to go to another hospital. When we called for ambulance services, they did not respond properly. Humanity failed, but we did our bit by donating his eye." NDTV quoted his wife as saying.
According to the report, after being turned away twice, the couple met with an accident on the road. CCTV footage later showed the woman, covered in blood, pleading with folded hands as vehicles passed by, but no one stopped to help.
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The wait ended after several minutes when a cab driver stopped and rushed Venkataramanan to a nearby hospital. Doctors there declared him dead on arrival.
As per the report, the family decided to donate Venkataramanan’s eyes, giving sight to others even in death.
Venkataraman's mother, who had lost her last surviving child, had no words to express herself: "I have no words. I do not know what to say. My son is gone."
"The government should understand a health emergency. My daughter is left with two children. Who will look after them?" asked his mother-in-law. His wife, mother, and two children, a five-year-old son and an 18-month-old daughter now survive Venkataramanan.
The incident has once again raised serious questions about emergency healthcare access, ambulance response, and public apathy in the city.
