The Madhya Pradesh High Court witnessed a significant development as Justice Vishal Mishra recused himself from hearing a writ petition concerning alleged illegal mining. The judge’s order, dated September 1, explicitly stated that BJP Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) Sanjay Pathak had attempted to contact him by phone regarding the pending matter, prompting the recusal. The case has been referred to the Chief Justice for listing before an appropriate bench.
Case Background
The matter originates from a writ petition, Ashutosh Dixit v Economic Offences Wing & Ors, filed before the Madhya Pradesh High Court. The petitioner, Ashutosh Dixit, had initially approached the Economic Offences Wing (EOW), Bhopal, with a complaint alleging large-scale illegal mining and seeking action against the accused individuals.
Subsequently, Mr. Dixit moved the High Court, alleging inaction on the part of the EOW. His primary grievance was that the agency had failed to conclude its preliminary enquiry into his complaint within a time-bound period.
During the proceedings, Mr. Sanjay Pathak, a sitting BJP MLA, who was not a party to the original writ petition, filed an application seeking to intervene in the matter, requesting that he also be heard by the Court.
Court’s Order and Recusal
In a brief but pointed order passed on September 1, Justice Vishal Mishra disclosed the reason for his decision not to hear the case further. The Court noted an attempt by Mr. Pathak to establish contact regarding the case.
Justice Mishra stated in his order, “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.”
Citing this external attempt to communicate about a sub-judice matter, Justice Mishra recused himself from the proceedings.
Decision of the Court
Concluding that it would be inappropriate for him to continue hearing the petition, Justice Mishra directed the High Court registry to place the matter before the Chief Justice for administrative orders.
The order read, “Let the matter be placed before the Hon’ble Chief Justice for listing the matter before the appropriate Bench for consideration.”
Senior Advocate S.R. Tamrakar, along with Advocate Ankit Chopra, appeared for the petitioner, Ashutosh Dixit. The Economic Offences Wing was represented by Advocate Madhur Shukla, and Advocate Anshuman Singh appeared on behalf of the applicant, Sanjay Pathak.
