Committal for Contempt of Court: London Borough of Tower Hamlets -v- Miah

FamilyFamily CourtCommittal for Contempt of Court

Case Number: ZE2300007

In the Family Court
sitting at East London

28 March 2024

Before: HHJ Suh

Between:
London Borough of Tower Hamlets
-v-
Sufiyan Miah

Judgment

Before HHJ SUH in public on 28 March 2024

  1. This is an application for the committal of the Defendant.
  2. On 14 February 2024, HHJ Lazarus imposed a penalty of 28 days imprisonment on the defendant for contempt arising from his failure to comply with a witness summons in care proceedings. The sentence was suspended on the condition that he attended the East London Family Court before me and gave evidence when called to do so.
  3. The care proceedings were listed before me at East London on 12, 13, 14 and 15 March 2024. The day on which the defendant was expected to give evidence was day 2 of the witness template. He did not attend the hearing. The defendant made no application to attend by video link and did not seek to have his attendance excused. No explanation was given for his failure to attend. I am satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that he did not attend.
  4. When sentencing a contemnor, I have been mindful of the principles set out in Breach of Suspended Sentence Order Sentencing guidelines which indicate that where there is the breach of a suspended sentence the court’s starting point is to activate the sentence. Here the breach of the suspended sentence is in the defendant’s failure to attend.
  5. As the time for giving evidence has passed the defendant has lost the opportunity of reducing the term served under section 31G(4)(a) of the Matrimonial and Family Proceedings Act 1984.
  6. I activate the suspended sentence and I issue a warrant of committal.
  7. Until the conclusion of the proceedings under case number ZE22C50363 no person shall publish to the public at large or any section of the public without the court’s permission any material which is intended or likely to identify the children as being involved in those proceedings or an address or school as being that of the children. Any person who does so is guilty of an offence.

HHJ Suh 28 March 2024