E-Paper
Two senior officers exonerated in contempt case
THE ALLAHABAD High Court imposed a heavy fine of Rs 25,000 on a petitioner for falsely dragging a senior IPS officer along with a PCS officer in a contempt case. After considering the entire relevant records and facts, Justice MC Jain exonerated both officers OPS Malik, IPS, and SN Pandey, rent control and eviction officer, Allahabad.
THE ALLAHABAD High Court imposed a heavy fine of Rs 25,000 on a petitioner for falsely dragging a senior IPS officer along with a PCS officer in a contempt case.
After considering the entire relevant records and facts, Justice MC Jain exonerated both officers OPS Malik, IPS, and SN Pandey, rent control and eviction officer, Allahabad.
The petitioner had alleged that the two officers had flouted the court order dated March 16, 1993, whereby the operation of the order of rent control and eviction officer allotting a house in favour of Malik, had been stayed.
The court, while exonerating the opposite parties of the contempt charges imposed Rs 25,000 as special costs on the petitioner, Naresh Chandra Kapoor, landlord of the house at Nyaya Marg, to be deposited with the High Court Legal Service Committee, Allahabad, within one month.
To recall, at a later stage, the petitioner had withdrawn his contempt petition.
Taking serious view of this the court of Justice MC Jain observed, “Contempt jurisdiction is meant for preventing interference with the course of justice and for maintaining the authority of law as is administered in courts.
“It cannot be used to satisfy the private grudge of a litigant or as a tool in nailing one’s opponent by creating pressure in one form or the other.
“In the present case, the petitioner did not care or dare to file rejoinder affidavit to rebut the assertions made by the two contemners in their counter affidavits by reiterating his earlier allegations and averments on the basis of which the contempt proceedings were initiated.”
“Without any regard for the majesty of law, the courts and the judges manning the system, he (petitioner) imputed malignity of the whole set of judges of this court at the hands of the opposite party no- 1 (IPS officer) by even putting abusive words in his mouth unworthy to be uttered in civilised society against anyone, let alone the judges of the High Court.
“He made a farce of the judicial system and ridiculed it by tinkering with due process of law,” remarked the court.
