The Madras High Court has directed its Registrar General to issue suitable instructions to his subordinates asking them not to number contempt of court applications filed against lower court judges since it was a well settled position of law that such petitions could not be filed against judicial officers.
Justice M.V. Muralidaran issued the direction while dismissing as withdrawn a contempt of court petition filed against G. Padmavathy, Judicial Magistrate at Thirukovilur in Villupuram district for allegedly not complying with an interim order passed by the court in a criminal revision petition in September 2016.
Pointing out that a contempt would not lie against judicial officers, and after permitting the petitioner’s counsel to withdraw the petition, the judge wondered how the High Court Registry numbered the case at the first place. He ordered that henceforth, no such petition against a judicial officer should be entertained.
