Contempt Case: Allahabad HC Restrains Advocate Santram Rathore from Entering Court Premises

The Allahabad High Court has issued a temporary restraining order against Advocate Santram Rathore, preventing him from entering the premises of the Pilibhit district courts until the next hearing in a contempt of court case initiated against him.

A Bench comprising Justice Ashwani Kumar Mishra and Justice Syed Aftab Husain Rizvi found that a prima facie case existed against Rathore, warranting the initiation of criminal proceedings under Section 2(c) of the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971.

“In the facts of the case and also considering the persistent act of alleged contempt on the part of the opposite party contemnor, we restrain the opposite party from entering the court premises or practicing in District Judgeship until the next date of listing,” the order stated.

The bench has issued a notice to Rathore, requiring him to explain why contempt proceedings should not be initiated against him. This is in response to allegations of obstruction in court proceedings, misbehavior towards the court, the use of abusive and derogatory language, and scandalizing the court.

The contempt proceedings were triggered after the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate (ACJM)-II in Pilibhit forwarded a reference to the High Court on July 12. The reference reported that Rathore, representing a complainant in a dowry case, made highly derogatory comments against the presiding judge during a hearing.

Rathore had inquired about the presence of a large number of police personnel in the court during the dowry case hearing. In response, the judge mentioned that the accused had expressed concerns about his safety due to a prior incident of assault in court. Rathore reportedly reacted strongly to this statement, making highly derogatory comments about the court and accusing the presiding judge of collusion with the accused.

Another incident occurred on July 26 in the same court, where women advocates and law students held a protest outside the court and reportedly made derogatory remarks about the presiding officer. Rathore is alleged to have incited this protest and attempted to pressure the judicial officer to withdraw the earlier contempt reference.

The High Court’s order mentioned that the presiding officer reported that Rathore had faced contempt proceedings previously and had expressed indifference to the contempt proceedings initiated against him.

As a result, the Court has directed Rathore to appear before it on the next scheduled hearing date.