CHENNAI: The Madras High Court closed an appeal after the appellant tendered an unconditional apology for threatening Villupuram court staff. K Rayer had filed a contempt of court petition in Madras HC against RM Subathra, the Principal District Munsif Judge of Villupuram.
While hearing the matter, Justice CV Karthikeyan held that a contempt petition cannot be filed in such a manner against a judicial officer and that the case was not maintainable. Accordingly, the petition was dismissed.
The HC also noted that the petitioner had threatened the officials and staff of the Villupuram court and, therefore, in an order passed in 2023, imposed a fine of Rs 25,000 on him. The court directed that the amount be paid to the Villupuram District Legal Services Authority and warned that, in case of default, the Villupuram Collector should recover the amount from the petitioner under the Revenue Recovery Act.
Challenging this order, Rayer filed an appeal, which came up for hearing before Justices P Velmurugan and M Jothiraman. During the hearing, Rayer tendered an unconditional apology and stated that he was ready to pay the fine amount. Recording the same, the Division Bench closed the appeal.