Sudhanshu Dhulia, J.

1. This petition before us has been filed by a practicing Advocate of this Court, bringing to our notice an alleged "Contempt of Court", said to be committed by a sitting Judge of this Court, who is the present respondent.

2. The allegations are that on 09.05.2018 and 11.05.2018, while the petitioner was in the Court of the learned Judge, the learned Judge lost his temper and used intemperate language against the petitioner, his client, and even made sarcastic comments against his brother Judges.

3. The petitioner states that the learned Judge commented that "unlike other Judges he is not in a habit of changing orders in his chamber". The petitioner gives two references of dates where such unsavory innuendos were allegedly used. On 09.05.2018, the petitioner was intimidated and threatened, and warned that he would be sent to jail.

4. There is also an allegation that the learned Judge passed similar remarks against a Senior Advocate, who was also a former Judge of a High Court. These remarks were made in "Hindi", but if loosely translated would read "Yes, I know what kind of a lawyer he is, and what kind of a Judge he was"!

5. There are also allegations that the learned Judge had used strong language against a high government official, and threatened to send him to jail.

6. Lastly there is an allegation that the respondent had dismissed a writ petition on 25.01.2018, in which was arrayed as one of the respondents, a former client of the present respondent. Instead of recusing from the case, the matter was heard and dismissed. The argument of the petitioner is simply that the learned Judge should not have heard the matter but still he did.

7. The alleged behaviour of the learned Judge, according to the petitioner, tends to scandalize this Court and at least lowers the authority of the Court, such utterances and behaviour of the learned Judge also amount to an obstruction in the administration of justice, says the petitioner.

8. We must record that this whole exercise has not been pleasant for us. It is a very unusual case, to say the least. Still we must give a decision and we do that "with malice towards none, with charity for all, we must strive to do the right, in the light given to us to determine that right." We found this reference of Abraham Lincoln's speech in the seminal judgment of Justice Sabyasachi Mukharji in the case of P.N. Duda v. P. Shiv Shanker, (1988) 3 SCC 167, and that is to be taken as our source.

9. We have not sent any notice to the learned Judge, as before we do that, two questions must be answered. First question is whether a contempt petition is at all maintainable against a Judge of a High Court, where the allegations are that he has committed a contempt "of his own Court". The second question, which is equally important, is whether a contempt petition can be entertained by this Court under Section 15 of the Contempt of Courts Act, where the learned Advocate General of the State has not granted his "consent", on a motion made by a person under sub-section (1)(b) of Section 15 of the Act.

10. This criminal contempt petition has been filed under Section 15 of the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971. Save a case which is under Section 14 of the Contempt of Courts Act i.e. a contempt in the face of the Court, in all other matters of criminal contempt Section 15 is the relevant provision, which reads as under:

"15. Cognizance of criminal contempt in other cases. - (1) in the case of a criminal contempt, other than a contempt referred to in Section 14, the Supreme Court or the High Court may take action on its own motion or on a motion made by -

(a) the Advocate-General, or

(b) any other person, with the consent in writing to the Advocate-General, [or]

(c) in relation to the High Court for the Union territory of Delhi, such Law Officer as the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, specify in this behalf, or any other person, with the consent in writing of such Law Officer