Lucknow, Sep 3 The Allahabad High Court on Thursday directed that suo motu criminal contempt proceedings against Gonda Divisional Commissioner Durga Shakti Nagpal be placed before another bench after Justice Pramod Kumar Srivastava recused himself from the case.
A division bench of Justice Abdul Moin and Justice Pramod Kumar Srivastava in Lucknow directed that the matter be placed before another bench after obtaining nomination from the chief justice or the senior-most judge, according to the court's order.
The case has been directed to be listed in the backlog fresh category on September 9.
The contempt proceedings were initiated suo motu over allegations of an attempt to influence a civil judge in Gonda.
The proceedings stem from a nearly three-decade-old land dispute pending before the civil court in Gonda. The dispute relates to a 1997 suit filed by Jyoti Vidya Mandir school against Nagar Palika Parishad, Gonda.
While hearing a transfer application in the case, the high court had on August 21 taken serious exception to an alleged telephonic conversation between Gonda Civil Judge (Senior Division) Shabina Khan and Nagpal regarding the judicial officer's leave and a case pending before her.
The court's latest order provides for the contempt proceedings to be heard by a bench other than the one comprising Justice Srivastava.
