New Delhi, Feb 6 The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a plea challenging a March 2019 verdict of its coordinate bench which had held an advocate guilty of contempt, saying the petition was not maintainable.
"Under which provision of law can we entertain a writ petition challenging an order of the coordinate bench," a bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi asked advocate Mathews J Nedumpara, who had filed the petition and appeared in-person.
The bench asked under which provision of law, the writ petition was maintainable.
Nedumpara said it was the duty of the court to correct the wrong.
"We will have to dismiss it only on the ground of being not maintainable," the bench said, adding, "Once it is not maintainable, it is an embargo for us to go into the merits."
The bench then asked Nedumpara, who was held guilty of contempt by the top court in March 2019, as to whether he has filed a plea seeking review of the verdict.
"I did file a review petition but the record is missing from this court," the lawyer said.
To this, the CJI said, "Don't make scandalous allegations that record is missing. Did you make any complaint to the CJI that the record is missing?"
While dismissing the plea, the bench said the petitioner was not able to explain as to how the writ petition was maintainable.
In March 2019, the top court sentenced Nedumpara to three months imprisonment for contempt of court but suspended the sentence after taking note of the unconditional apology tendered by him.
The apex court, which had barred the advocate from practising before it for a year, said the jail sentence will be suspended only if Nedumpara abides by the undertaking that he will never attempt to browbeat judges of the top court and the Bombay High Court.
On March 12, 2019, the top court held him guilty of contempt.
It had issued notice to the lawyer on the punishment to be imposed on him for committing contempt of court.
The issue of contempt had cropped up when the bench was hearing a petition filed by an organisation which was represented by Nedumpara during the hearing.
