HUDDERSFIELD doctor Dev Dutt was stopped from working at his single- handed practice just two days after the Examiner contacted the authorities about him.

Huddersfield Central Primary Care Trust decided at an emergency hearing to suspend him.

It had emerged the Fartown GP had been allowed to continue running his own practice - even though he had been under psychiatric monitoring since August, 2003, and had been strongly condemned by a judge last November.

Dr Dutt, 63, has been a doctor in Huddersfield for more than 30 years. He has also worked in the accident and emergency department at the Calderdale Royal Hospital in Halifax, alongside his GP work.

He has been running his practice from Fartown Health Centre on Spaines Road.

He has also become a familiar figure at Huddersfield County Court, where he has pursued several civil actions against people who have helped his wife after the couple parted.

Dr Dutt has not won any of the cases he has pursued.

The people he has targeted include relatives and friends of his 39-year-old wife, Cath, along with doctors and solicitors.

He has also taken civil legal proceedings against the primary care trust through the county court.

But after the failure of his latest legal action against Huddersfield businessman David Ruddiman and his wife, Julie - who have supported Mrs Dutt - the judge in the case gave a damning indictment of Dr Dutt's evidence.

And within days of the case finishing at the county court, an extended civil restraint order was imposed on Dr Dutt.

This banned him from taking any more action against the people he has already pursued through the court. This involves a further nine cases.

Dr Dutt had accused many of harassing him.

In the Ruddimans' case he had tried to claim damages of £309,825 from them - but failed after not coming up with evidence to support his accusations of harassment.

In his summing-up Judge Terence Walsh said: "I am satisfied this action is motivated, principally at least, by a gnawing bitterness and the need for recrimination against anyone who has simply supported his wife in their matrimonial difficulties.

"I can, sadly, describe his evidence and the experience overall as being surreal. I find that, throughout, he has sought to deliberately mislead the court.

"He has attempted to be manipulative and evasive and additionally dealt in half-truths and disingenuous statements. What I referred to at one point as either `playing games' or `simple lies.'

"A general overview of his evidence is that there were numerous matters where Dr Dutt declined to give an answer at all," the judge added.

"He told us that this was for one of three reasons. Either it was because it was not relevant or it was none of our business or, alternatively, it related to matters not within the public domain.

"I am unable to rely upon Dr Dutt's evidence on every central and important issue. I find that this action is an abuse of the process of the court."

The judge said the doctor had turned his practice into a limited company, which made it difficult for anyone he had taken to court to get their costs back from him.

Mr and Mrs Ruddiman, of Fixby, have spent £18,000 defending themselves at four court hearings through the county courts.

Now the practice has become a limited company the Ruddimans could find it exceptionally hard to get the costs back direct from the doctor's salary.

A primary care trust spokes- woman said a surgery could become a limited company, but the trust was not obliged to have a contract with a limited company.

The divorce proceedings started about three years ago, but were only finalised in December.

Mrs Ruddiman said: "It's been a very anxious three years for us. We kept thinking it would end and Dr Dutt would tire of pursuing us. But he hasn't.

Mrs Dutt has full custody of the couple's two daughters, aged 11 and 13.