Activist Saurav Das faces contempt case over court post while winning AAP praise for school audit

What happened?

A prominent activist is facing contempt of court proceedings in the Punjab and Haryana High Court, just as his public campaign to audit state schools won him unexpected praise from Punjab’s ruling party.

Gaurav Bhatia, a senior advocate and BJP leader, has initiated contempt proceedings against Saurav Das, the co-convenor of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP). The complaint accuses Das of attempting to undermine public confidence in the judiciary through social media posts that targeted the court's Acting Chief Justice, Ashwani Kumar Mishra.

At the heart of the legal dispute is a post Das shared on X concerning a major ruling on dearness allowance (DA) and dearness relief (DR) for Punjab government employees and pensioners. Das claimed the ruling created a financial burden of roughly ₹20,000 crore for the Punjab government. He questioned the administrative decision of Justice Mishra to withdraw the case from another bench and hear it himself, suggesting the move violated the court's standard roster. Das went further, linking the timing of the ruling to the judge’s subsequent recommendation for a permanent appointment as Chief Justice.

Bhatia's petition argues that these comments cross the line from fair criticism into scandalising the court, alleging that Das imputed improper political motives to a sitting constitutional judge.

Praise for school audits

Yet while Das faces a courtroom battle over his online remarks, his offline activities have found a much warmer reception from the Punjab government.

Das recently led a CJP delegation through Ludhiana as part of a "School Thik Karo" (Fix the Schools) campaign. The group audited several government institutions, presenting their findings directly to the state's administration.

The audit painted a mixed picture. Das praised Punjab’s newly established "Schools of Eminence," noting that facilities like artificial intelligence labs, swimming pools, and access ramps made them superior to many private institutions. However, he also highlighted severe neglect in older schools. Among them was the Government Senior Secondary School in Jandiali, a facility built in 1936 that Das said still relies on badly outdated infrastructure.

Instead of dismissing the criticism, the leadership of the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) embraced it. Punjab’s Education Minister, Harjot Singh Bains, met with the delegation and promised swift action to resolve the issues. AAP's national convenor, Arvind Kejriwal, also took to social media to publicly thank Das for flagging the problems, promising that the state government would address the concerns immediately.

The dual developments leave Das in a striking position: lauded by the state government for his hands-on policy audits, even as he prepares to defend himself in court against charges of attacking the integrity of the state’s highest legal officers.