Uproar after Allahabad High Court refer Divisional Commissioner’s conduct for criminal contempt

Uproar took place on Monday (August 24, 2026) after Devipatan Divisional Commissioner Durga Shakti Nagpal allegedly attempted to influence a Civil Judge (Senior Division), Shabina Khan, in Gonda.

She is handling a civil suit, with social activists demanding a high-level investigation by the State government, and the Allahabad High Court referred the conduct to the court dealing with criminal contempt matters on August 21. 

In the matter, the Civil Judge, Gonda, in a letter to the District Judge, said she received repeated calls while on leave on July 15, 2026 from a number linked to the Commissioner’s office.

Later, she said she got a call from Commissioner Durga Shakti Nagpal, who wanted to discuss the pending suit and asked pointed questions about how long she intended to stay on leave. The judge said the calls and the tone used amounted to interference. 

In the matter, Allahabad High Court Justice Syed Qamar Hasan Rizvi on Friday (August 21, 2026) held that the allegations of pressure on the judicial officer could not simply be ignored and directed that the matter be placed before the appropriate bench dealing with criminal contempt.

Justice Rizvi noted that the District Judge, Gonda, had already transferred the suit to another equivalent court on 9 August 2026, so the transfer plea had lost its purpose. But held that the tone of the alleged conversation showed the judge was being pressured, and that courts cannot look away at insulting language used against a Presiding Officer. The Court directed that the matter be placed before the appropriate contempt bench after seeking directions from the Chief Justice or the Senior Judge.

Lucknow-based social activist Amitabh Thakur called for an independent, high-level inquiry into the matter and demanded that the Chief Secretary of U.P. immediately transfer Durga Shakti Nagpal from the Devipatan (Gonda) Division.

“I have sent a letter to the Chief Secretary of Uttar Pradesh demanding the transfer of Gonda (Devipatan) Commissioner Durga Shakti Nagpal and an independent high-level inquiry into the entire matter in light of an order passed by the Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court on Friday (August 21, 2026), Mr. Thakur told The Hindu. 

“The telephonic conversation between Gonda’s Civil Judge (Senior Division) and the Divisional Commissioner was, prima facie an attempt to influence a judicial officer, in accordance with the order of the High Court. I demanded that the Chief Secretary immediately transfer Durga Shakti Nagpal from Gonda Division and constitute an independent high-level administrative inquiry into the telephonic conversation with the judicial officer and the events that followed,” he added.

Mr. Thakur has also demanded that clear protocols and necessary administrative instructions be issued regarding executive officials contacting judicial officers in connection with pending judicial cases.

The Divisional Commissioner gave a different account of the events and said in a letter to the Administrative Judge, Gonda that she called only to check on the judge’s leave status since the case, pending nearly 30 years and involving land needed for her office building, required expediting, and that the judge reacted with anger and later declared in open court that she would not hear the matter further.