No Relief For BJP MLA Sanjay Satyendra Pathak In Criminal Contempt Case; High Court Orders Personal Appearance On May 14

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): BJP MLA Sanjay Satyendra Pathak suffered a setback at the Madhya Pradesh High Court on Tuesday as the court did not grant any relief.

Appearing before the court in a criminal contempt case, Pathak was directed to appear again for the next hearing scheduled for May 14 as his application for exemption from personal appearance was rejected.

A division bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva and Justice Vinay Saraf granted permission to Ashutosh Manu Dixit, the original petitioner, to assist the court in the criminal contempt proceedings. The next hearing is scheduled for May 14.

Earlier, Pathak had issued an unconditional apology through his lawyer in the high court in a criminal contempt case, but the court had directed him to appear in person on April 21. An affidavit from Pathak was submitted showing his mistake and rendered an unconditional apology on his behalf. The bench took the affidavit on record.

Dixit informed Free Press, The high court has not granted any relief to Sanjay Pathak even after tendering an unconditional apology. The court has also ordered Pathak to appear in the next hearing on May 14 and has not given any exemption from personal appearance.

The matter originated on Sept 1, 2025, when Justice Vishal Mishra disclosed in open court that the MLA had attempted to contact him. To uphold judicial impartiality, Justice Mishra recused himself from the case.

When no action was taken subsequent to the incident, Dixit, a resident of Katni, filed a second petition in the high court. During a hearing on April 2, the court took a serious view of the matter, observing that it pertained to the dignity of the judiciary and, prima facie, constituted a case of criminal contempt. In light of this, the high court issued directions to serve a notice upon Pathak.