Justice Pramod Kumar Srivastava of the Allahabad High Court has recused himself from hearing suo motu criminal contempt proceedings concerning senior IAS officer and Devi Patan Mandal Commissioner Durga Shakti Nagpal, who is facing allegations of attempting to influence and intimidate a judicial officer over a pending civil dispute. A Division Bench of Justice Abdul Moin and Justice Pramod Kumar Srivastava directed that the matter be placed before another Bench of which Justice Srivastava is not a member.
The order does not disclose the reason for Justice Srivastava’s recusal. The matter has been directed to be listed before a fresh Bench after obtaining nomination from the Chief Justice or the senior-most judge, and is to be listed in the backlog-fresh category on September 9, 2026.
The contempt proceedings originate from an August 21 order passed by Justice Syed Qamar Hasan Rizvi in a transfer application arising from a 1997 civil suit pending before the Gonda Civil Court for nearly three decades. During those proceedings, the High Court was apprised of a telephone conversation between Civil Judge (Senior Division) Shabina Khan and Commissioner Nagpal. The judicial officer had alleged that Nagpal attempted to influence and intimidate her in connection with the pending case.
The judicial officer had written to the District Judge alleging that Nagpal called her on July 15 while she was on leave, questioned her about her leave and allegedly warned that she would complain to the High Court. Nagpal, however, gave a different account, stating that she had called only to ascertain the period of the officer’s leave and maintained that the pending case was not discussed during the call.
The High Court, while referring the matter for criminal contempt, had observed that the tone and language of the alleged conversation gave a direct impression that the Presiding Officer of the Court was tried to be influenced. It further observed that subordinate courts must be protected from being insulted or pressurized.