Jabalpur, May 14 The Madhya Pradesh High Court on Thursday declined to exempt ruling BJP MLA and mining baron Sanjay Pathak from personal appearance in a criminal contempt case against him.
A division bench of Chief Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva and Justice Vinay Saraf heard the matter. Pathak appeared before the court and waited for more than two hours for his turn.
His lawyer sought exemption from personal appearance for the MLA during the next hearing on July 15, citing his busy schedule.
But the bench rejected the plea.
Katni resident Ashutosh Dixit had filed a petition stating that Justice Vishal Mishra of the HC recused himself last September from hearing a case of alleged illegal mining involving a company linked to Pathak.
In his order, Justice Mishra stated that the MLA tried to contact him by phone. He withdrew from the matter to maintain impartiality, and directed that the issue be placed before the Chief Justice.
The petition stated that the MLA's conduct tarnished the dignity of the judiciary, and his interference in judicial work amounted to criminal contempt.
The high court on April 2 directed the registration of criminal contempt proceedings against the BJP MLA.
During an earlier hearing, Pathak submitted an affidavit admitting to his mistake and offered an unconditional apology.
