NAINITAL: The Uttarakhand High Court on Wednesday issued a contempt notice to a civil judge for not following its order to treat as woman a rape victim from Mumbai whose gender was not disclosed.

The contempt notice was issued to Sandeep Kumar Tiwari, Secretary of the District Legal Services Authority of Pauri Garhwal and Civil Judge, Senior Division, after hearing the petition of the rape victim who is a resident of Mumbai.

He has been given four weeks' time to file his reply. The hearing was held by the single-judge bench of Justice Manoj Kumar Tiwari. Earlier, a petition was filed in the high court on behalf of the victim in which it had passed directions to treat/observe the petitioner as a woman.

The victim later filed the contempt petition alleging that the judge in question refused to accept the direction of the high court.