Supreme Court accepts unconditional apology of Lalit Modi and closed Contempt of court proceedings

On April 24, 2023, the Supreme Court of India accepted the unconditional apology tendered by ex-Commissioner Indian Premier League (IPL) Lalit Modi and closed the contempt proceedings. The contempt plea was filed by Senior Advocate Chander Uday Singh in relation to Lalit Modi’s social media post against the Indian judiciary. The bench comprising Justice CT Ravikumar and Justice MR Shah said “We accept the unconditional apology with broad heart because the Court always believes in forgiveness more particularly when an apology is tendered unconditionally and from the bottom of the heart…Accepting the apology we close the present proceedings.” Mr. Lalit Modi tendered an unconditional apology on his Twitter account on 18 April 2023, the apology reads as 

“I hereby tender this unconditional public apology for my social media post, dated 13.01.2023 and my tweet dated 30.03.2023.

I reiterate that I have the highest regard for the India Judicial System and the majesty of the Hon’ble Courts, and I will not do anything which is inconsistent with the majesty or dignity of the Hon’ble Courts or the Indian judiciary, in any manner.

I reiterate that I do not, and did not, have the remotest intention of denigrating or lowering the Indian Judiciary’s image or public estimation, which I hold in the highest regard and esteem.”

The apology note was accepted by the Supreme Court bench with hope and trust that it is genuine and an oath was taken by Lalit Modi that he will not indulge in any such activities in the future. The top Court noted that “...we accept the unconditional apology. We remind the respondent that any such attempt on his part in future which would tantamount to remotely tarnishing the image of the Indian judiciary and courts will be seen very seriously and we desist him from indulging in such activities.”

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