Bench headed by Justice Siddharth Mridul recuses from hearing Sujata Kohli criminal contempt plea against Rajiv Khosla

A Division Bench of the Delhi High Court headed by Justice Siddharth Mridul on Thursday recused from hearing the contempt petition filed by former district judge Sujata Kohli against former Delhi High Court Bar Association (DHCBA) President Rajiv Khosla..The Bench, also comprising Justice Amit Sharma, recused from hearing the matter after Kohli took exception to the listing of the case for another date without issuing notice..The judges were examining a video of the alleged incident during Khosla’s sentencing when two district judges were also present on the dais with the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (CMM) who was hearing the case.However, they noted that the audio was not clear, and therefore, said that they will see it on another date, as there are other matters on board to be dealt with. .Kohli asked the Court to issue notice, but the judges said that they would examine it on another date. This prompted Kohli to ask the judges to recuse..Justice Mridul then said in the order,“At request of Ms Kohli, who appears in person, in order to obviate any possible allegation of bias, we consider it appropriate to recuse from hearing the proceeding. List before another bench.".On November 6 last year, Khosla was convicted by a Delhi court for assaulting Kohli in 1994. She was then a lawyer practising at the Tis Hazari Court.CMM Gajender Singh Nagar found Khosla guilty of offences under Sections 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code, more than 27 years after Kohli filed the complaint against Khosla..Kohli filed the contempt plea alleging that when the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (CMM) was to pronounce orders on sentence against Khosla, he and his supporters from the Bar held the court to ransom, shouted slogans and interrupted the judge repeatedly. As a result, the judge was not able to dictate his order in open court, it was claimed.The petition has also said that on the date of sentencing, the CMM Court was jam-packed with lawyers shouting slogans and that two district judges were also present in court..Back in August 1994, Kohli accused Khosla of pressuring her to join various protests and demonstrations. On July 29, 1994, she was asked to attend a seminar on family courts but declined as she was busy. Khosla then threatened her and said that all the facilities provided to her would be taken away.She filed a civil suit seeking an injunction, but soon after that, her table and chair at the court complex were removed..She had moved an application for changing the nature of the suit from permanent injunction to mandatory injunction. Though the Court asked the parties to maintain status quo, the civil judge said that she would also visit the site on the same day.While Kohli was waiting on her seat for the judge, Khosla arrived with another co-accused named PS Rathi and a mob of 40-50 people, pulled Kohli by her hair, twisted her arms and dragged her while hurling abuses and threats..Follow Bar and Bench channel on WhatsAppDownload the Bar and Bench Mobile app for instant access to the latest legal news.