[Rajiv Khosla sentencing] Delhi High Court seeks report on presence of other judges on dais in CMM Court

The Delhi High Court on Thursday called for a report on the sentencing proceedings of former Delhi High Court Bar Association (DHCBA) President Rajiv Khosla who was convicted for assaulting former District and Sessions Judge Sujata Kohli [Sujata Kohli v Rajiv Khosla]..A Division Bench of Justices Siddharth Mridul and AK Mendiratta asked the Principal District Judge (headquarters) to file the report within two weeks and listed the case for further hearing on March 24..The direction came after the Court was told that on the day of Khosla’s sentencing, two district judges were also present on the dais with the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (CMM) who was hearing the case.The Bench noted that it is unusual for other judicial officers to remain present on the dais when proceedings are going on. In this light, it was necessary that the records of the trial court be called for.The report called for, the Court said, will include the record of video conferencing conducted on the days of conviction and sentencing as well as CCTV footage of the premises..The Court was dealing with a criminal contempt petition filed by Kohli alleging that when the 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.“What is most outrageous, and out of the ordinary, was that, the two ld. District Judges were compelled to come to the Dias of ld. CMM, and to remain there throughout, for almost the whole of the proceedings till they had to be adjourned,” Kohli has said in her petition..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.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.In August 1994, she 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.