Govt prosecutor slaps senior civil judge in district court

Nagpur: An additional public prosecutor (APP) allegedly slapped and manhandled a senior civil judge on the seventh floor of district court premises, Nyay Mandir, Akashwani Chowk, on Wednesday. The attacker was apparently angry over a decision by the judge dismissing his family’s civil dispute over a will.
Within hours, the Nagpur bench of Bombay high court took suo motu cognisance of the incident and issued notice of criminal contempt against the attacker, Deepesh Parate.

The incident has brought the legal fraternity into the limelight for the wrong reasons for the second time within a week. On December 21, the attorney of a lawyer had made a murderous assault on his senior before consuming poison to end his life in front of the court.

Fifth joint civil judge senior division Kiran Deshpande had come to court for some work despite the ongoing vacation. It’s learnt Deshpande had on November 28 dismissed a case filed by Deepesh’s father Madanlal regarding a property dispute within the family, which is based at Khamla. The case, Madanlal vs Shreeprakash, started in 1997 and revolving around a will, was also referred to the high court, which had sent it back to the same court with a direction for a time-bound decision.

Deshpande had also issued notice of contempt of court against Madanlal’s counsel advocate Prabodh Sadavarte around a couple of weeks ago. The case was in the appeal period for Madanlal to seek intervention from the appellate authority.

On Wednesday, judge Deshpande and judge SV Deshmukh stepped out of the chamber of judge Vibha P Ingley, who is holding charge of principal district and session judge, on the seventh floor of the Nyay Mandir premises. The judges had a meeting over some administrative issues. Deshpande and Deshmukh were waiting near the elevator when Deepesh came down the stairs.

Deepesh, whose father Madanlal too is a senior counsel, allegedly slapped Deshpande on the left cheek, sending his spectacles crashing to the floor and causing minor injuries near the eye.

Deepesh immediately fled down the stairs, but the judges had already raised an alarm. Policemen at the court of judge VB Kulkarni on the sixth floor swung into action. Constable Santosh Pandey, the gunman of judge Kulkarni, grabbed Deepesh. “The APP was muttering about a threat to his life from some judge and so on when I overpowered him,” he said.

Deepesh was taken to the ante-chamber of Kulkarni’s court, where he was kept separately even as Deshpande and other judges rushed there.

Senior PI Sunil Bonde of Sadar police station was summoned, and Deepesh was arrested after a complaint by Deshpande. Charges of causing obstruction in discharge of duty by public servant (section 353 IPC), causing voluntary hurt to a public servant to deter him or her to perform duty (332 IPC) and threatening (506 IPC) were invoked against Deepesh. He was later produced before judicial magistrate first class (JMFC) SS Patil and remanded to police custody for a day. Police are trying to collect the CCTV footage of the seventh floor, where the incident took place.

Before being placed under arrest, Deepesh was allowed to speak to his wife, and also spoke a few words to the media. He has also filed a complaint against Deshpande for biased action in his father’s case, including recording distorted statements and pressuring the family to comply with some unspecified things. “The judge had a dispute with my father but he lodged a false case against me,” he said. Deepesh denied assaulting Deshpande.

PI Bonde said the matter is under investigation. “We are probing the case from every angle,” he said.

Later in the day, district government pleader Nitin Telgote, and advocates Uday Dable and WM Quazi met the senior administrative judge at Nagpur bench of Bombay HC.

Some time later, sitting judge of vacation bench of high court justice Ravi Deshpande issued a suo motu criminal contempt notice against Deepesh Parate, deeming the incident a ‘threat to independence of judiciary’. The court also observed that ‘such outrageous conduct needs no tolerance’. The notice is returnable after six weeks.

Advocate Kamal Satuja, president of District Bar Association, who also rushed to Sadar police station described the situation “unfortunate”.

Senior counsel Lubesh Meshram condemned Parate’s act. “If the assault took place, then it is the most foul action by a judicial official, who had several avenues for redressal at his disposal,” he said.