The Madhya Pradesh High Court ordered suo motu criminal contempt proceedings against BJP MLA Sanjay Pathak for allegedly contacting a judge over a pending case. The bench found prima facie contempt, directing registry action and listing the matter for hearing next week.
JABALPUR: The Madhya Pradesh High Court has instructed its registry to register a suo motu criminal contempt petition against BJP MLA Sanjay Pathak for allegedly trying to contact a judge concerning a pending matter.
A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva and Justice Vinay Saraf said it was prima facie of the view that Pathak’s conduct could constitute criminal contempt. The court ordered that the contempt proceedings be listed next week.
The court directed,
“This petition is disposed of with a direction to the Registry to register a suo motu Criminal Contempt Petition against Mr. Sanjay Satyendra Pathak and list the Criminal Contempt Petition before the Court on 06.04.2026,”
Justice Vishal Mishra had earlier recused himself from the matter in an order dated September 1, 2025, stating that Pathak had attempted to call him.
The judge noted,
“Mr. Sanjay Pathak has made an attempt to call me to have discussion regarding this particular matter, therefore, I am not inclined to entertain this writ petition,”
The dispute arose from a writ petition concerning alleged illegal mining. Complainant Ashutosh Dixit had approached the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) in Bhopal with these allegations and later moved the High Court, accusing the EOW of failing to complete a preliminary inquiry within a specified timeframe.
Pathak submitted an application to the High Court seeking leave to intervene and to be heard. After his attempt to contact the judge came to light, Dixit sought judicial notice, asking the court to treat the contact attempt as an effort to influence the judiciary.
The court has now disposed of that petition and directed that the issue be pursued as a suo motu contempt matter.
Advocates Arvind Kumar Shrivastava and Puneet Shroti represented the petitioner. Government Advocate Anubhav Jain appeared for the State. Advocate Akash Chaudhary represented the High Court. Senior Advocate Anil Khare, along with Advocate Siddharth Shukla, appeared for Pathak.
Case Title: Ashutosh Dixit v. Economic Offences Wing & Ors
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