By the Court.—The appellant contemner, a practising lawyer of this Court who on an earlier occasion also held the office of the Secretary, Allahabad High Court Bar Association, has been charged for having committed ex-facie contempt by a learned Single Judge of this Court giving rise to this appeal. The division bench hearing the appeal found several issues worth reference as a result whereof Hon’ble the Chief Justice constituted this Full Bench to hear and dispose of the same.

2. A specific oral prayer was made for deciding the question of maintainability of the instant appeal, which is also one of the questions referred. It was urged by the learned Counsel that the said question be decided before taking up the contempt matter itself. The prayer was accepted by us in view of the sequence of the proceedings which we would prefer to mention at the out set, before traversing the specifics of the incident, and the arguments advanced thereon.

3. Sri V.C. Misra, Senior Advocate and coincidently the President of the Bar Association for the contemner, as well as the contemner in person and Sri A.C. Tripathi learned standing Counsel, have advanced their submissions covering argument