New Delhi, March 26 -- The Supreme Court on Wednesday took exception to what it described as an attempt to improperly influence judicial proceedings, after it was brought to its notice that the father of a litigant had allegedly called the brother of CJI Surya Kant to question an order passed by the court. "He calls up my brother and asks him how the CJI has passed this order. Will he dictate us?" the CJI said in court, and warned of possible criminal contempt action. The case pertains to a plea filed by Nikhil Kumar Punia, who claimed to have converted to Buddhism and was seeking the benefit of minority reservation despite being born into an upper-caste Hindu family. In January, the court had dismissed his claim and called it a "new kind of fraud". P12...