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Synopsis

The Bombay High Court recently initiated suo moto proceedings against a civic officer and an advocate for threatening and abusing a peon with offensive language after being asked to maintain silence.

A division bench of the high court comprising Justice A.S. Gadkari and Justice M.S. Sonak initiated the proceedings against civic officer Mayur Gulabrao Patil and Advocate Dinesh Nimba Kadam, who allegedly verbally abused and attempted to physically assault the peon, Atul Tayade.

The incident occurred in the context of municipal cases assigned to the court, which resulted in a large number of litigants attending court proceedings. The bench had previously directed peons and police constables on duty to ensure silence and maintain order within the courtroom and in the surrounding corridors.

When the peon attempted to maintain peace in the corridors as per court instructions, civic officer Mayur Gulabrao Patil, accompanied by Advocate Dinesh Nimba Kadam, verbally abused him in filthy language and attempted to physically assault him. They also threatened the peon, stating they would complain to his appointing authority, leading to his termination by the evening.

The high court expressed its displeasure over the incident when Advocate Kadam attempted to justify his actions. Senior Advocate Ram Apte and Advocate Subhash Jha intervened and requested the court to exercise leniency since stringent action might harm Kadam’s professional career.

In response, both Patil and Kadam tendered unconditional apologies, not only to the court but also to the peon, through personal affidavits submitted at 5:00 PM. The bench accepted the apologies and remarked that,

“However, we caution both the said Respondents to be cautious and careful in future and not to indulge such act/s and/or activity/ies in the precincts of any Court in the State of Maharashtra,” the order reads.

Case title: High Court On Its Own Motion vs  Mayur Gulabrao Patil & Anr