New Delhi: Congress leader Sajjan Kumar was on Friday pulled up by Delhi High Court for making allegations of bias against a judge and seeking transfer of a 1984 anti-Sikh riots case, saying it was “a frontal attack intended to humiliate the judge” and warned of invoking contempt proceedings.
A bench of justices Gita Mittal and P S Teji rejected pleas by Kumar and two convicts alleging bias by one member of the division bench which is hearing the case and said it was an “attempt to prevent hearings in these cases”.
However, the bench decided not to initiate contempt proceedings or slapping penalties on Kumar and two others, saying it would only delay the proceedings in the case relating to incidents which happened 32 years ago.
In strongly worded observations, the bench said “the attempt to single out a judge and address judges constituting a bench by name and making personal allegations not supported by record against them are really a frontal attack intended to humiliate the judge concerned in public spaces and browbeat them giving in to illegally and improperly made demands and deserves to be condemned in highest tone.”
While warning Kumar and convicts – ex-MLA Mahender Yadav and Kishan Khokkar of contempt, the bench however said “we exercise restraint and desist from invoking our jurisdiction under the Contempt of Courts Act and also in not initiating penal action against the applicants as commended in above set out judicial precedents, only for the reason these cases brook no further delay.–PTI
