Chandigarh, Oct. 1 -- The Punjab and Haryana high court has dropped criminal contempt proceedings against a former deputy superintendent of police (DSP) Balwinder Singh Sekhon of Ludhiana for posting malicious content against the judiciary in 2023.

The bench of chief justice Sheel Nagu and justice Sanjiv Berry instead asked him to perform community service by planting 10 saplings within a period of one week and submit a compliance report within 15 days.

Criminal contempt was initiated against Sekhon in February 2023. He was also arrested following the orders of high court and remained in jail for six months after being held guilty of contempt in related proceedings. The allegations were that he was instrumental in circulating derogatory...