New Delhi: As the top most court of the country, the Supreme Court’s verdict is final but a resident of Jaunpur in Uttar Pradesh did the unthinkable and challenged the SC’s order before a district civil judge in a property dispute, prompting a livid SC to issue contempt notice to him.

In blatant violation of judicial discipline and rules, the civil judge agreed to hear the plea against the SC order and issued notice to the opposite party who had won the legal battle for ownership of the property in the SC.

Taking strong exception to the conduct of petitioner Mathura in challenging the SC order in a lower court, a bench of Justices J S Khehar and C Nagappan issued contempt notice to him and directed him to be present in court on the next date of hearing.

The court passed the order on a petition filed by Sobha Nath seeking contempt proceedings against his rival for not complying with the SC’s direction and starting a fresh round of litigation by questioning the apex court’s verdict.

Advocates Sugriva Dubey and Sarvesh Singh, appearing for Nath, contended that the suit filed before the civil judge alleging that the SC order was “false and frivolous” amounted to contempt of court and the SC must take action to send a message to people that such kind of behaviour would not be tolerated.

"Filing the suit before the civil judge against the judgment of the SC on the ground that the judgment be declared as false and frivolous with the civil judge taking cognisance amounts to contempt of court. It gives bad name to the judicial system and if such petitions are entertained against the order of SC, then no legal dispute would come to an end," Dubey told the bench.

The SC said it was a serious matter that an order passed by it was not being honoured.

It issued notice to Mathura and summoned him to give explanation for not complying with the order. Entertaining such a plea by a lower court is blatant abuse of law and violation of judicial discipline but the bench for the time being did not pass any order against the judge. It may pass strictures after knowing the circumstances under which the petition was filed and entertained.

The dispute between Mathura and Sobha for ownership of an acre of land in a Jaunpur village went on for 24 years, starting in 1981. An additional civil judge had ruled in Nath’s favour in 2009. This was upheld by the Allahabad HC in 2013. The SC too approved the order and dismissed an appeal by Mathura on December 12, 2013. Mathura, however, did not opt to challenge the SC order and it became binding. Five months after the verdict, Mathura filed a civil suit before the district civil judge for quashing all orders passed by the lower court, the HC and the SC.

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