Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): The principal bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court in Jabalpur on Thursday took suo motu cognisance and directed registration of a criminal contempt case against MLA Sanjay Pathak for allegedly attempting to contact a High Court judge in connection with a case involving recovery of a Rs 443 crore penalty imposed by the mining department for illegal mining.
A division bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva and Justice Vinay Saraf heard the matter.
On September 1, 2025, Justice Vishal Mishra had recused himself from hearing a case related to illegal mining involving a company linked to Pathak. In his order, Justice Mishra noted that the MLA had attempted to contact him over the phone, following which he withdrew from the case.
Justice Mishra recused himself to uphold impartiality and directed that the matter be placed before the Chief Justice at the administrative level. The petition stated that the alleged act tarnished the image of the judiciary and undermined its dignity.
In January 2025, petitioner Dixit had filed a complaint. Soon after, the state mining department imposed a penalty of Rs 443 crore on three companies linked to the Pathak family: Anand Mining Corporation, Nirmala Minerals and Pacific Export, for illegal mining.
Advocate Arvind Shrivastava, appearing for the petitioner, told Free Press the High Court had taken suo motu cognisance and ordered criminal contempt proceedings against Pathak.
