HC accepts lawyer's plea to recall conviction

New Delhi, May 2 (UNI) The Delhi High Court today accepted a lawyer's petition to recall its order convicting him guilty of contempt of court.

A practising lawyer in the Supreme Court, P C Shrivastava was held guilty of contempt of court by the Delhi High Court on April 10.

A division bench headed by Justices B N Chaturvedi and G S Sistani had held that Shrivastava had written to the Chief Justice of India, a letter containing malicious allegations against the two judges of the High Court.

Shrivastava had allegedly written a letter to the CJI on May 5, 2006 which mentioned his allegations against the two High Court judges after he had lost a tenancy related case to his landlord in Vasant Vihar.

He had also described the landlord Lalit Madhan, in the letter as a land mafia. According to him, ''flaunting proximity with the criminals, the High Court judges and the police, Madhan claimed that he could obtain any kind of order from the high court judges.'' Later, Madhan filed a contempt case against Shrivastava.

Calling the order wrong, Shrivastava, however, moved the same bench to recall its order.

The division bench admitted the petition and ordered his counsel C L Sahu to file a recall application today.

Arguing for Shrivastava, C L Sahu today submitted before the court that their convicting order of April 10 was barred by limitation of one year. According to him, no court shall intimate any proceedings for contempt, either on its motion or otherwise after the expiry of one year from the date on which the contempt is alleged to have been committed. For the letter dated May 5, 2006 the limitation, therefore, ends on May 5 2007, C L Sahu said, praying for the conviction to be recalled and set aside.

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