Who is Yatin Oza and why has the Gujarat High Court held him in contempt?

Team Udayavani, Oct 10, 2020, 2:06 PM IST

Recently, division bench of the Gujarat High Court sentenced Gujarat High Court Advocates’ Association (GHAA) president Yatin Oza to its custody till “rising of the court” and imposed a penalty of Rs 2,000 on him for criminal contempt of court over his remark calling the court a “gambling den”

After pronouncing the sentence, the court stayed its order for 60 days so that Oza could file an appeal against the order under Section 19 of the Contempt of Courts Act. Oza, who is the president of the Gujarat High Court Advocates” Association (GHCAA), was held guilty by the high court on Tuesday after it took up the matter suo motu (on its own).

According to Indian Express, A veteran practising advocate, Oza was designated as ‘Senior Advocate’ in 1999. He has been president of the High Court’s bar association for over two decades. In May, Oza pushed for physical reopening of courts.

He was twice Member of the Gujarat Legislative Assembly from Sabarmati from 1995 to 2001 as a Bharatiya Janata Party canditate. He resigned from Bharatiya Janata Party and contested election against Narendra Modi from Maninagar as Indian National Congress where he lost. He returned to Bharatiya Janata Party in 2012. Later, he joined Aam Aadmi Party in presence of Arvind Kejriwal.

It is said that on June 5, he addressed a press conference that was also live-streamed on Facebook, in which he made serious allegations against the administration, and on the dispensing of justice at the court. The court was upset not only by the allegations themselves, but also by the way they were made