The case stemmed from a dispute between two parties over the management of a temple trust. The two sides were initially directed by a civil court to share the management of the trust in equal proportion. The appellant then challenged this order before the Additional District Judge (ADJ). However, after the ADJ did not hear the appeal for years, the parties reached a settlement.
After the parties moved the High Court in this regard, the ADJ allowed the appeal. Through this order, additional conditions were imposed on the appellant. The appellant then once again approached the High Court, which stayed the lower court’s order.
Subsequently, the appellant filed a complaint with the High Court’s Vigilance Registrar against the ADJ, claiming that the order amounted to an abuse of his office. The complaint was inadvertently shared over WhatsApp and even sent to the State government. Meanwhile, the complaint was rejected after an inquiry was conducted.
The High Court then initiated civil and criminal contempt proceedings against the appellant after a reference by the concerned ADJ, leading to the order under challenge.
Source: Barandbench
