STATE Vs. NUR-UD-DIN SUFI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) CONTEMPT proceedings were started against the respondent, Kh. Nur-ud-Din Sufi, as a result of a letter which he had written to the Tehsildar Magistrate Ganderbal suggesting to him to take, in a criminal complaint pending before him, a view which would De favourable to the party in whom Nur-ud-Din Sufi was interested. Nur-ud-Din Sufi is a member of the Legislative Assembly and as such carries with himself a certain amount of prestige and influence in the locality. It is obvious that the respondent wrote the letter in question while placing reliance in his influence and high position. But the Tehsildar Magistrate proved himself of a sterner stuff and he forwarded the letter to his superior officers for such action as may be deemed proper.

(2.) ON receipt of the letter in this office, the opinion of the learned Acting Advocate-General was sought. He was of the opinion that the writing of the letter in question constituted contempt of Court. Proceedings were fixed for hearing at Jammu on 22-8-2011 (7-12-54 ). Before making appearance in the case, the respondent, Nur-ud-Din Sufi wrote a personal letter to one of us in which while protesting against the fixing of hearing at Jammu, he made some very reckless and wild alle-gations against the staff of this Court. In this letter which is a mixture of bluif and bluster, the respondent not only hinted that he was going to contest the show-cause notice issued to him "for the sole purpose of clearing the path of National workers," but also "for opening the eyes of Revenue Magistrates like Ghulam Mohd. Wani Tehsiiaar Ganderbal" who was the recipient of the letter in question. The case ultimately came up for hearing on 27th Phagan 2011 before a Full Bench of this Court.

(3.) BEFORE proceeding further, it might be stated here that the circumstances which unfolded themselves by and by reveal that the respondent had developed a habit verging on second nature of interfering in cases pending before a Magistrate. Apart from writing to the presiding Magistrates he did not spare even the petty Court clerks to whom he kept on writing letters suggesting various orders that they should secure in those cases. All this would never have seen the light of the day, but lor the fact that at one stage he fell foul of the judicial clerk of the Tehsiiaar Magistrate's Court at Ganderbal and made a complaint of corruption against him. The judicial clerk in his defence produced a number of letters written to him by the said Nur-ud-Din Sufi, M. L. A. , with the allegation that since he had failed to carry out the instructions of Nur-ud-Din Sufi given with regard to various cases pending before the Tehsildar Magistrate, he had been entangled in this false case. The case now before us is that Nur-ud-Din Sufi wrote the aforesaid letter to the Tehsildar Magistrate, five letters to the Court clerk, and a private letter to one of us.