The National Commission for Women (NCW) served a criminal contempt of court notice on Brahmagiri MlA Sanjay Dasburma for his various media statements on May 15 and 16 last after the launch of NCW’s Inquiry Committee’s report on the mysterious death of Ayush doctor Madhabilata Pradhan.
The NCW in its notice said the statement was given intentionally to lower the dignity of the NCW probe panel and undermine the inquiry process.
The notice said that Dasburma, who is also the Government Chief Whip in the State Assembly, tried to create an impression that the NCW panel member Manasi Pradhan was the president of Puri District Mahila Congress and thus was trying to lower the dignity of the NCW member by misleading the public.
The notice said that Dasburma also tried to colour the NCW probe as politically directed.
Both Dr Charuwali Khanna and Manasi Pradhan are inquiring several critical cases across the country and several political parties at different points of time find themselves at the receiving end of their inquiry.
“Should this be construed as serving at the direction of the other political partiesIJ” questioned the NCW Inquiring Committee.
The Inquiry Committee said that it had arrived to inquire into an incident of violence in September last after getting a complaint from MlA’s party members, where a woman constable was allegedly beaten up in a rally. “Should it mean that the NCW team acted at the behest of your partyIJ” the notice asked Dasburma.
The notice asked Dasburma to immediately retract all his media statements intended to undermine the office of the NCW Inquiry Committee and refrain from making any statement in future that amounts to contempt of court, pending which the commission would be left with no option but initiate criminal contempt of court proceedings against him under Section 15 of the said NCW Act.