Dilip B. Bhosale, J.@mdashThree advocates practicing in this Court have instituted a Contempt of Court Case (Criminal) (for short "the petition") against the alleged contemnors - accused nos. 1 to 4 (for short "the accused"). Accused No. 1 is Chairman and Managing Director of Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. Accused No. 2 is Chairperson and Editorial Director of Hindustan Times India Ltd. Accused nos. 3 & 4 are Reporter and Editor-in-Chief respectively of a daily news paper "Kannada Prabha". The only prayer made in the petition reads thus:
WHEREFORE, the complainant respectfully prays that this Hon''ble Court be pleased to frame the charge and punish accused nos. 1 to 4 for committing criminal contempt of this Hon''ble High Court and allow the above petition in the interest of justice.
The petitioners before filing this petition, on 3.4.2012 had submitted a memorandum u/s 15 (1) (b) of the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971, (for short ''the Act'') read with Article 215 of the Constitution of India, addressed to the Advocate General, seeking his written consent to file the petition i.e. the contempt of court case (criminal) against the accused before this Court. The learned Advocate General vide order dated 12.4.2012 rejected the memorandum/application filed by the petitioners. It is against this backdrop the petitioners filed this petition seeking action against the accused for committing criminal contempt for the reasons stated in the petition.
2. On filing of the petition, the office raised an objection as to maintainability of the petition for want of written consent of the Advocate General and made an endorsement to post it before court for orders. In the vacation, on 23.4.2012, advocate on record for the petitioners filed a memo requesting to post the petition for preliminary hearing/orders/hearing, on 25.4.2012 before the Bench available in the vacation. Accordingly, the petition was placed before the Division Bench on 25.4.2012 when the order "issue notice" was passed. Thereafter, the petition was placed before the Bench on 2-3 occasions and finally it came before this Bench on 2nd of July, 2012. On that date, at the request of learned Counsel for the complainants, we kept the petition on 3rd July, 2012 for hearing on a preliminary objection that was raised by learned Counsel for the accused.
3. The preliminary objection raised by learned Counsel appearing for accused nos. 3 & 4 was two fold. Firstly, the petition deserves to be dismissed for want of consent in writing of the Advocate General; and secondly, even for taking suo motu cognizance of a criminal contempt, the procedure as contemplated by the High Court of Karnataka (Contempt of Court Proceedings) Rules, 1981, (for short ''the Rules'') and as laid down by the Supreme Court in
4. On the other hand, learned Counsel appearing for the complainants submitted that this objection cannot be considered since this Court has already applied its mind as contemplated by Rule 8 (ii) (a) of the Rules, and issued notice to the respondents. In other words, he submitted that the order "issue notice" in such petition amounts to rejection of the office objection as to its maintainability. He then submitted that in any case, as contemplated by sub-rule (v) of Rule 5 of the Rules nothing precludes this Court from taking suo motu action on the basis of "information disclosed", and since in the present petition "sufficient information" is disclosed so as to attract the action under the provisions of the Act, the Division Bench vide its order dated 25.4.2012 rightly issued notice to the respondents, and therefore, the preliminary objection need not be examined and deserves to be rejected outright. He, then submitted that as contemplated by clause (ii) of rule 10 of the Rules, the only option open to this Court now is to direct the accused to file their reply and after hearing the parties, either drop the proceedings or to discharge the accused or to frame charge and proceed as contemplated by clause (iii) thereof. In short, he submitted that the preliminary objection raised by the accused deserves to be rejected outright.
5. We have heard learned Counsel for the parties at considerable length. Since, we have heard learned Counsel for the parties on the preliminary objection, as raised by learned Counsel for the accused, there was no reason for us to issue any direction to the accused to file reply on merits, to the petition. Learned Counsel for the parties also confined their arguments only on the preliminary question raised on behalf of the accused.
6. It is against this backdrop, with the assistance of learned Counsel for the parties, we have formulated the following questions for our consideration:
1. Whether an appropriate Division Bench can take action/cognizance of criminal contempt of the High Court on its own motion/suo motu, based on the information disclosed in the petition filed by "any other person", without the consent in writing of the Advocate General, as contemplated by clause (b) of sub-section (1) of Section 15 of the Act, in the light of the provisions contained in the Act and the Rules and the procedure laid down in P.N. Duda''s and Bal Thackrey''s cases?
2. Whether the law laid down by the Supreme Court in P.N. Duda''s case and Bal Thackrey''s case (supra) would apply to the High Court in suo motu action of a criminal contempt, post the Judgment of the Supreme Court in Amicus Curiae vs. Prashant Bhushan (2010) 7 SCC 529?
7. Before we proceed further, we would like to have a glance at relevant rules in the Rules.
Rule 3 of the Rules provides that every "motion" for seeking action for contempt of the High Court, should be in the Form of a petition. Rule 5 provides for contents of the petition. In the present case we are concerned with sub-rule (v) of rule 5 of the Rules. It provides that in the case of criminal contempt of the High Court other than a contempt referred to in section 14 of the Act, the complainant should state whether he has obtained the consent of the Advocate General and if so, produce the same. It further provides that, nothing precludes the High Court from taking action "suo motu" on the basis of the "information disclosed" in the petition, filed without written consent of the Advocate General.
Rule 6, which speaks about taking of cognizance, provides that every proceedings for contempt, other than a proceeding u/s 14 of the Act, should be dealt with by a Bench of not less than two Judges.
Rule 7 deals with initiation of proceedings on information. Under this provision, any information "other than a petition" or "reference" shall, in the first instance required to be placed before the Chief Justice on the administrative side, and if the information found to be expedient or proper to take action, the same shall be directed to be placed for preliminary hearing. We are not concerned with this rule also, which speaks about information other than a petition.
Rule 8 deals with preliminary hearing and notice. Under clause (i) of Rule 8 every petition needs to be posted for preliminary hearing before "appropriate Bench". Clause (ii) (a) of Rule 8 provides that if the Court is satisfied that a prima facie case has been made out may direct issue of notice to the accused; otherwise it shall dismiss the petition, and under clause (ii) (b) the notice to be issued, should be in Form No. 1 and shall be accompanied by a copy of the petition and annexures, if any, thereto.
Rule 9 provides for appearance of the accused. Sub-rule (i) of Rule 9, requires, in every case of criminal contempt, the accused should appear in person before the High Court on the first date of hearing and even thereafter unless exempted by an order of the court.
Rule 10 provides for hearing of cases and trial. Under sub-rule (i) of Rule 10, the accused is required to file reply duly supported by an affidavit on or before the first date of hearing or within such extended time as may be granted by the Court. Sub-rule (ii) provides that upon consideration of the reply filed by the accused after hearing the parties, the Court may drop the proceedings and discharge the accused. Sub-rule (iii) of Rule 10 provides that if the Court upon hearing is satisfied that there is prima facie case, it shall proceed to frame the charge and furnish a copy of the same to the accused. The other provisions in the Rules provide for further procedure to be followed for dealing with the contempt proceedings.
8. In the present petition, we have reached the stage of Rule 9 of the Rules which provides for appearance of the accused. It would not be wrong if we mention at this stage that the matter was placed before us for orders with objections and at that stage (on 2.7.2012) learned Counsel for the parties had agreed for hearing on the preliminary objection, as raised by learned advocates for the accused, and hence we proceeded to hear learned Counsel for the parties today only to consider the preliminary objection.
9. We are concerned with section 15 of the Act. It would be advantageous to reproduce the relevant portion of the said section for better appreciation of the contentions urged on behalf of the parties. Section 15 reads thus:
Cognizance of criminal contempt in other cases.- (1) In the case of a criminal contempt, other than a contempt referred to in section 14, the Supreme Court or the High Court may take action on its own motion or on a motion made by-
(a) the Advocate-General, or
(b) any other person, with the consent in writing to the Advocate-General. (or)
(c) ...
(2) ...
(3) ...
Explanation-In this section, the expression "Advocate - General" means -
(a) ...
(b) ...
(c) ...
10. A glance at the provisions contained in Section 15 of the Act, more particularly clause (b) of sub-section (1), would show that the High Court can take cognizance of criminal contempt on its own motion or on a motion made by the Advocate General, or any other person, with the consent in writing of the Advocate General. Similarly, the Rules, more particularly sub-rule (v) of Rule 5 of the Rules, envisages suo motu action on the basis of the "information disclosed" in the petition presented without consent in writing of the Advocate General. A conjoint reading of Section 15 sub-rule (v) of Rule 5, make it clear that the action for contempt can be taken by this Court on its own motion or on the motion of the Advocate General or on any other person with his consent in writing. When a private person desires an action for contempt, he has 3 courses open to approach this Court: firstly, he may place the information in his possession before the Court and request to take suo motu action; secondly, he may place the information before the Advocate General and request him to take action; and thirdly, he may place the information before the Advocate General and request him to permit him to move the Court. In the present case, the petitioner failed in the latter two options and therefore, he moved this petition praying that this Court should take suo motu action.
11. At the outset we would like to consider the submission advanced by learned Counsel for the complainant that once the Court issues notice under Rule 8(ii) (b) it should be deemed that the court has taken cognizance after having prima facie satisfied about the contempt, and therefore, there is no provision neither under the Act or the Rules to revisit/reconsider the said order, and the only course open is to proceed under rule 10 of the Rules after filing of reply affidavit by the accused.
12. There is no dispute that the petition was filed without there being any consent in writing of the Advocate General. As a matter of fact, the Advocate General rejected the application filed by the petitioners for seeking permission to file contempt against the accused as contemplated by clause (b) of sub-section (1) of Section 15 of the Act. In view thereof, the office raised an objection as to maintainability of the petition.
13. Learned Counsel appearing for the complainant submitted that he had appeared before the earlier Bench and on hearing him notice was issued. Before the earlier Bench, he had submitted that even in the absence of written consent of the Advocate General, this Court has power to take action/cognizance of criminal contempt on its own motion/suo motu on the basis of the "information disclosed" in the petition, as contemplated by Rule 5(v) of the Rules. In all fairness learned Counsel for the complainant submitted that the preliminary objection, as raised before us, in the light of the Judgments of the Supreme Court in P.N. Duda and Bal Thackrey''s case was not either raised or considered at that stage. The judgments of the Supreme Court in these cases and Section 15 make it clear that cognizance of a contempt, at the instance of any other person, cannot be taken without the consent in writing of the Advocate General. This proposition is not at all in dispute before us and therefore, we need not detain ourselves any further on this question.
14. The basic question, therefore, is whether in the absence of written consent of the Advocate General, it is open to the Division Bench dealing with the criminal contempt cases to on its own motion/suo motu take cognizance on the basis of the information disclosed in such petition. Further, it also falls for our consideration, whether in the light of provisions contained in the Act or in the Rules this Court can or should entertain the preliminary objection, as raised before us, when this Court on 23.4.2012 had passed an order "Issue notice" as contemplated by Rule 8(ii)(a), which, according to the petitioners, was in the nature of taking cognizance having prima-facie satisfied about the contempt.
15. It is true that sub-rule (ii) (a) of Rule 8 of the Rules provides that if the Court is satisfied that a prima facie case has been made out, it may direct issue of notice to the accused. Since, in the present case, the Division Bench issued notice, we assume that a prima facie case, at that stage, was made out by the complainants. Whether in this situation, whether we can entertain the preliminary objection, as raised, is the question that falls for our consideration.
In our opinion, having regard to the arguments advanced at the stage of issuing notice and considering that the preliminary objections, as raised before us, were not raised at that stage this Court without any hesitation can examine the preliminary objection even without asking the parties to file their reply.
16. In
23. We have already pointed out that while dealing with criminal contempt in terms of Section 2(c) of the Act, strict procedures are to be adhered. In a series of decisions, this Court has held that jurisdiction to initiate proceedings for contempt as also the jurisdiction to punish for contempt are discretionary with the court. Contempt generally and criminal contempt certainly is a matter between the court and the alleged contemnor. No one can compel or demand as of right initiation of proceedings for contempt. The person filing an application or petition before the court does not become a complainant or petitioner in the proceedings. He is just an informer or relater. His duty ends with the facts being brought to the notice of the court. It is thereafter for the court to act on such information or not. (Vide
(emphasis supplied)
17. Then our attention was also invited to the Judgment of the Supreme Court in
27. Rule 5 provides that only petitions under Rules 3(b) and (c) shall be posted before the Court for preliminary hearing and for orders as to issue of notice. It is clear from Rule 5 that the matter could have been listed before this Court by the Registry as a petition for admission only if the Attorney-General or Solicitor-General had granted his consent. In this case, the Attorney-General had specifically declined to deal with the matter and it does not appear that any request was made to the Solicitor-General to give his consent.
28. Of course, this Court could have taken suo motu cognizance had the petitioners prayed for it. They had not. Even it they had, it is doubtful whether the Court would have acted on the statements of the petitioners had the petitioners been candid enough to have disclosed that the police had refused to take cognizance of their complaint. In any event the power to act suo motu in matters which otherwise require the Attorney-General to initiate proceedings of at least give his consent must be exercised rarely. Courts normally reserve this exercise to cases where it either derives information from its own sources, such as from a perusal of the records, or on reading a report in a newspaper or hearing a public speech or a document which would speak for itself. Otherwise sub-section (1) of Section 15 might be rendered otiose.
29. When a matter is listed before the Court, the Court assumes that the formalities in connection with the filing have been scrutinized by the Registry of this Court, that the proper procedure has been followed as it is the duty of the Registry of scrutinize the petition to see whether it is in order before placing it before the Court for consideration. There is no occasion for this Court to assume the task of the Registry before considering the merits of each matter. Had our attention been drawn to the procedural defects, we would have had no hesitation in rejecting the application in limine on this ground alone.
(emphasis supplied)
18. Thus, it is clear that while dealing with the Criminal Contempt in terms of Section 2(c) of the Act, strict procedures are to be adhered. Any deviation from the prescribed Rules cannot be accepted or condoned lightly and must be deemed to be fatal to the proceedings taken to initiate action for contempt. The office, therefore, while listing the matter before the appropriate Bench is expected to scrutinise the petition thoroughly so as to see whether all the formalities in connection with the filing of the Contempt court case (Petition) have been complied and that the due procedure is adhered by the complainant and should also follow the due procedure contemplated by the Act and Rules before listing the matter before the appropriate Bench, for its consideration on merits.
19. In the present case, since it is an admitted position that the preliminary objection, that has been raised before us, was not either raised before the Bench which issued notice or brought to the notice of the Bench all the procedural defects when notice was issued, we have no hesitation in revisiting/reconsidering the order "Issue Notice" and or to entertain the preliminary objection raised before us even at this stage. It is common knowledge that in all such cases, the notice is issued either in routine or because the Court has not yet felt satisfied that a case for initiating any proceedings for contempt has been made out, and therefore, the Court calls upon the opposite party to admit or deny the allegations made or to collect more facts so as to satisfy itself, if a case for initiating proceedings for Contempt was made out. Such a notice is certainly anterior to initiation. (See Omprakash Jaswal''s case). It is also evident from the language of the notice in terms of Form No. 1 of the Rules, which calls upon the accused to show cause, either in person or by an advocate duly instructed, why such action as is deemed fit should not be taken against him. The submission that once the notice is issued, the only course open is to proceed under (iii) to (vi) of Rule 10 of the Rules after filing of reply affidavit by the accused, must be rejected.
20. Before we consider the main questions, as framed by us, we would like to have a glance at the Judgments in P.N. Duda, Bal Thackery and Prashant Bhushan''s cases, heavily relied upon by the learned Counsel for the parties.
The Supreme Court in P.N. Duda''s case, after considering the relevant provisions of the Act and the Rules in respect of the action for contempt, and so also its Judgments, and the Judgment of Delhi High Court in Anil Kumar Gupta V/s K. Subba Rao, has, in terms, laid down the procedure to be followed when the petition for contempt is instituted without written consent of the Advocate General. The relevant paragraph 53 reads thus:
A conjoint perusal of the Act and rules makes it clear that, so far as this Court is concerned, action for contempt may be taken by the Court on its own motion or on the motion of the Attorney General (or the Solicitor General) or of any other person with his consent in writing. There is no difficulty where the Court or the Attorney General chooses to move in the matter. But when this is not done and a private person desires that such action should be taken, one off three courses is open to him. He may place the information in his possession before the Court and request the Court to take action; (Vide
The office is to take note that in future if any information is lodged even in the form of a petition inviting this Court to take action under S. 15 of the Contempt of Courts Act or Art. 215 of the Constitution, where the informant is not one of the persons named in S. 15 of the said Act, it should not be styled as a petition and should not be placed before the judicial side. Such a petition should be placed before the Chief Justice for orders in chambers and the Chief Justice may decide either by himself or in consultation with the other judges of the court whether to take any cognizance of the information. The office to direct to strike off the information as "Criminal Original No. 51 of 1973" and to file it.
I think that the direction given by the Delhi High Court sets out the proper procedure in such cases and may be adopted, at least in future, as a practice direction or as a rule, by this Court and other High Courts. However, a petition having been filed and similar petitions having perhaps been entertained earlier in several courts. I do not suggest that this petition should be dismissed on this ground.
We would also like to quote paragraphs 39 of this Judgment, as requested by learned Counsel for the complainants, wherein Hon''ble Mr. Justice Sabyasachi Mukharji (as he then was) observed thus:
Our attention was drawn by Shri Ganguly to a decision of the Allahabad High Court in
In paragraph 59 Hon''ble Sri. Justice S. Ranganathan (as he then was) observed thus:
Secondly, if we analyse the types of action which the Attorney General/Solicitor General may take on an application made to him, the position will be this. Firstly, he may grant permission in which case no further question will arise. I do not think it will be open to any other person to come to the court with a prayer that the Attorney General/Solicitor General ought not to have given his consent. For, it would always be open to the court, in case they find no reason to initiate action, to dismiss the petition. Secondly, it is possible that the Attorney General/Solicitor General may not be able to discharge his statutory function in a particular case for one reason or other. This was what happened in the case of
(emphasis supplied)
21. In Bal Thackrey''s case (supra) the Supreme Court after considering the Judgment in P.N. Duda and several other Judgments observed that in the absence of the consent of the Advocate General in respect of a criminal contempt filed by a party u/s 15 of the Act, taking suo motu action for contempt without a prayer was not maintainable. That apart, it would be relevant to notice the observations made by the Supreme Court in paragraph 18 of the Judgment. The relevant observations read thus:
The directions in Duda''s case when seen and appreciated in the light of what we have noticed hereinbefore in respect of contempt action and the powers of the Chief Justice. It would be clear that the same prescribe the procedure to be followed by High Courts to ensure smooth working and streamlining of such contempt actions which are intended to be taken UP by the court suo motu on its own motion. These directions have no effect of curtailing or denuding the power of the High Court. It is also to be borne in mind that the frequent use of motu power on the basis of information furnished in a contempt petition otherwise incompetent u/s 15 of the Act may render the procedural safeguards of Advocate-General''s consent nugatory. We are of the view that the directions given in Duda''s case are legal and valid.
22. These 2 Judgments were thereafter considered by the Supreme Court in Prashant Bhushan''s case (supra), strongly relied upon by learned Counsel for the complainant. On the basis of this Judgment, it was submitted that the information disclosed in the present petition is sufficient to invite this Court''s action under the Act or Article 215 of the Constitution even in the absence of written consent of the Advocate General. On the other hand, learned Counsel for the accused submitted that in this Judgment, the Supreme Court has not upset the law laid down in P.N. Duda''s case or Bal Thackrey''s case. Even on facts also, he tried to distinguish application of this Judgment to the facts of the present case.
23. In Prashant Bhushan''s case, during the course of hearing of certain Interlocutory Applications in W.P. (C) 202/1995, an application was filed by the amicus curiae Mr. Harish Salve, learned senior advocate, drawing the attention of the Supreme Court to certain statements made by Sri. Prashanth Bhushan, senior advocate, which was reported in Thelka magazine. When all the relevant facts were placed before the Bench presided over by the then Chief Justice of India, in which Justice Kapadia (as he then was), was also a member, directions were given to issue notice and to post the matter before 3 Judges'' Bench of which Justice Kapadia was not a member.
In that case, it was argued on behalf of Mr. Prashanth Bhushan that the contempt proceeding was not maintainable on account of the provisions of section 15 of the Act but also in view of the 1957 Supreme Court Rules, regarding proceedings for contempt. Rule 3 of the Supreme Court Rules provides for action under the provisions of the Act suo motu, or on a petition made by Attorney General or Solicitor General or on a petition made by any person and in the case of a criminal contempt with the consent in writing of the Attorney General or the Solicitor General. Senior counsel appearing on behalf of Prashant Bhushan placed heavy reliance upon the Judgment of the Supreme Court in P.N. Duda''s case and it was submitted that in paragraphs 53 & 54 of the Judgment a direction had been given by the Supreme Court that if any information was lodged even in the form of a petition inviting this Court to take action under the Contempt of Courts Act or Article 215 of the Constitution, where the informant is not one of the persons named in Section 15 of the said Act, it should not be styled as a petition and should not be placed for admission on the judicial side. Such a petition, it was submitted that it was required to be placed before the Chief Justice for orders in chambers and the Chief Justice would decide, either by himself or in consultation with the other Judges of the Court, whether to take any cognizance of the information. Then reliance was also placed on the Judgment of the Supreme Court in Bal Thackrey''s case wherein it was indicated that Supreme Court could have taken suo motu cognizance had the petitioners prayed for it, even without the consent of the Attorney General, but that such a recourse should be confined to rare occasions only. The Supreme Court in paragraphs 20, 21 & 22 proceeded to observe thus:
20. The matter may require further consideration, but we are not inclined to hold that the contempt proceedings are not maintainable for the above mentioned reasons. Primarily, certain information was brought to the notice of the Chief Justice of India on which action was taken. In other words, notwithstanding the prayer in the application made by the learned amicus curiae, the Chief Justice of India took cognizance and directed notice to issue thereupon.
21. The issues involved in these proceedings have far greater ramifications and impact on the administration of justice and the justice delivery system and the credibility of the Supreme Court in the eyes of the general public than what was under consideration in either Duda case or Bal Thackrey case. In our view, even though suo motu cognizance was taken in this case, this is one of those rare cases were, even if the cognizance is deemed to have been taken in terms of Rule 3(c) of the Rules to Regulate Proceedings for Contempt of the Supreme Court, 1975, without the consent of the Attorney General or the Solicitor General, the proceedings must be held to be maintainable.
22. Thus, on prima facie satisfaction that there were sufficient grounds for taking action on its own motion, the Court initiated suo motu action by directing issue of notice to the respondents. Hence, the present contempt proceedings was initiated by the Court on its own motion and it is not covered by clauses (a),(b) and (c) of sub-section (1) of Section 15 of the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971 or clauses (b) and (c) of Rule 3 of the Rules to Regulate Proceedings for Contempt of the Supreme Court, 1975. On the other hand, the present proceeding is covered by clause (a) of Rule 3 of the said Rules.
(emphasis supplied)
24. This Court in Laxmi Janardhana w/o C.R. Janardhan vs. Smt. N.S. Vinuthja w/o N.D. Muralidhar 2010 Crl.L.J. 2175 while dealing with the question whether in the absence of prior consent in writing of the Advocate General, cognizance of criminal contempt could be taken. After dealing with all the relevant provisions and so also the Judgments of the Supreme Court in Bal THACKREY''s case, this Court in paragraph 16 observed thus:
S. 15(1)(b) and R. 5 (v) have prescribed distinct procedure for the person making a complaint of criminal contempt as defined under S. 2(c) of the Act. When the procedure has been stipulated both under the statute and also in the Rules made under the power conferred on the Court, both under Article 215 of the Constitution of India and S. 23 of the Act, the Court cannot take cognizance, if the procedure prescribed has not been followed. A contempt of Court is an offence of a criminal character. Hence, the proceedings initiated, cannot be de hors, the provisions of the Act and Rules. If the procedure prescribed is not followed, the resultant position would be illegal, Punishment, if any, can be imposed only in a legally initiated and conducted proceeding and not otherwise.
(emphasis supplied)
25. There is yet another Judgment of the Supreme Court in
26. In
In the cases contemplated by (i) or, (ii) above, it cannot be said that any proceedings for contempt have been initiated. Filing of an application or petition for initiating proceedings for contempt or a mere receipt of such reference by the court does not amount to initiation of the proceedings by court. On receiving any such document it is usual with the courts to commence some proceedings by employing an expression such as admit rule, issue notice or issue notice to show cause why proceedings for contempt be not initiated. In all such cases the notice is issued either in routine or because the court has not yet felt satisfied that a case for initiating any proceedings for contempt has been made out and therefore the court calls upon the opposite party to admit or deny the allegations made or to collect more facts so as to satisfy itself if a case for initiating proceedings for contempt was made out. Such a notice is certainly anterior to initiation. The tenor of the notice is itself suggestive of the fact that in spite of having applied its mind to the allegations and the material placed before if the court was not satisfied of the need for initiating proceedings for contempt: it was still desirous of ascertaining facts or collecting further material whereon to formulate such opinion. It is only when the court has formed an opinion that a prima facie case for initiating proceedings for contempt is made out and that the respondents or the initiating proceedings for contempt is made out and that the respondents or the alleged contemnors should be called upon to show cause why they should not be punished: then the court can be said to have initiated proceedings for contempt. It is result of a conscious application of the mind of the court to the facts and the material before it. Such initiation of proceedings for contempt based on application of mind by the court to the facts of the case and the material before it must take place within a period of one year from the date on which the contempt is alleged to have been committed failing which the jurisdiction to initiate any proceedings for contempt is lost.
(emphasis supplied)
27. In
If the High Court acts on information derived from its own source, such as from a perusal of the records of a subordinate court or on reading a report in newspaper of hearing a public speech, without there being any reference from the subordinate court or the Advocate-General, it can be said to have taken cognizance on its won motion. But if the High Court is directly moved by a petition by a private person feeling aggrieved, not being the Advocate General, can High Court refuse to entertain the same on the ground that is has been made without the consent in writing of the Advocate the consent in writing of the Advocate-General? It appears to us that the High Court, has, in such a situation, a discretion to refuse to entertain the petition, or to take cognizance on its own motion on the basis of the information supplied to it in that petition. If the petitioner is a responsible member of the legal profession, it may act suo motu, more so, if the petitioner-advocate, as in the instant case, prays that the court should act suo moto. The whole object of prescribing these procedural modes of taking cognizance in Section 15 is to safeguard the valuable time of the High Court or the Supreme Court form being wasted by frivolous complaints of contempt of Court. If the High Court is prima facie satisfied that the information received by it regarding the commission of contempt of a subordinate court is not frivolous, and the contempt alleged is not merely technical or trivial, it may, in its discretion, act suo motu and commence the proceedings against the contemnor. However, this mode of taking suo motu cognizance of contempt concerned is of a grace and serious nature. Frequent use of this suo motu power on the information furnished by an incompetent petition, may render these procedural safeguards provided in Sub-section (2), otiose. In such cases, the High Court may be well advised to avail of the advice and assistance of the advocate-General before initiating proceedings.
(emphasis supplied)
28. Thus, the principles envisaged in the judgments of the Supreme Court would show that the contempt of Court is an offence of a criminal character, hence, the proceedings initiated, cannot be dehors, the provisions of the Act and the Rules. If the procedure prescribed is not followed, the resultant position would be illegal. The office, therefore, should be more careful in handling the petition instituted for the action of contempt of Court (criminal) which has been filed without written consent of the Advocate General. The Court can take the action for contempt on its own motion or on the motion of the Advocate General or any other person with his consent in writing. Insofar as the last mode is concerned, a private person who desires that action for contempt should be taken, may place the information in his possession before Court and request the Court to take action; or he may place the information before the Advocate General and request him to take action or, he may place the information before the Advocate General and request him to permit him to move the Court. When a private person moves the Court by way of petition without written consent of the Advocate General and place information before the court, which he believes to be sufficient to initiate action for contempt, the office should not place it before the judicial side. Such a petition/information should be placed before the Chief Justice for orders in chambers and the Chief Justice may decide either by himself or in consultation with the other Judges of the Court, whether to take any "cognizance of the information" disclosed in the petition. The object of prescribing the procedural modes of taking cognizance u/s 15 is to safeguard the valuable time of the High Court or the Supreme Court from being wasted by frivolous complaints of contempt of Court. Moreover, the office should examine such petition to see whether the petitioner has prayed for suo motu action for contempt.
29. The complainants, in the present petition, have not prayed for suo motu action for contempt. They have stated that on 31.03.2012, they were browsing the World Wide Web for news, when they came across a news item captioned "Comparison of Karnataka DGP with Saddam Hussein ''unfortunate'': Chidambaram", Complainant No. 1 read the compete news item. Thereafter, Complainant No. 2 has also read the same news item on the web site of the accused. It is further submitted that what shocked and surprised them was not the actual news item but the subsequent comments of readers, published by accused Nos. 1 and 2. Publication of comments, according to the complainants, were nothing but sheer acts of contempt. The comments published brought the entire judiciary in disrepute as an institution and, therefore, action under the Act deserves to be taken against the alleged contemnor. In paragraph-7 of the petition, the complainant has stated thus:-
It is submitted that when a visitor visits the web site of the accused any comments cannot be made automatically. The web site has a mechanism whereby the comments made on giving of email address of the person commenting there after even after submitting the comment the web page will give information that the comment will be published subject to acceptance by the administrator of the web page. Thus the comment is ultimately published is with the approval of the Accused No. 1 and 2. Thus the Accused No. 1 and 2 have deliberately to bring bad repute, scandalize the lower the authority of this Hon''ble Court and the same acts are deliberate.
They have also quoted certain news items/comments published on the web site of the accused and so also invited our attention to the annexures, to contend that the contents thereof are contemptuous and they are in the nature of lowering the dignity of judiciary. They have also placed on record some materials, they came across after filing of the petition, and submitted that publication of such materials also, according to them, amounts to contempt.
30. It is against this background, we now proceed to consider the submission of learned Counsel for the Complainants that once the Court satisfies itself about the existence of prima-facie case and issues notice, it should be deemed that suo motu power has been exercised under Rule 3 (a) of the Supreme Court Rules and non adherence to the procedural requirements in other forms of Contempt will not vitiate the exercise of suo motu power under Rule 3(a) of the Supreme Court Rules, which is analogous to Rule 5 (v) read with Rule 8 (ii) (b) of Karnataka Rules as per the principle laid down in Para 22 of Prashanth Bhushan''s case.
31. In support of this proposition, learned Counsel for the Complainants placed heavy reliance upon the Judgment of the Supreme Court in Prashanth Bhushan''s case and submitted that this Court can take suo motu action of contempt in view of disclosure of the information in the petition as contemplated by sub-rule (v) of the Rule 5 of the Rules. He submitted that in Prashanth Bhushan''s case, in almost similar situation, the Supreme Court held that Court can initiate suo motu action by directing issue of notice to the accused and that power is conferred on the Court u/s 15 of the Act and the Supreme Court Rules, which are analogous to the Rules.
32. Before we proceed further we would like to have a close look at the Judgment of the Supreme Court in Prashanth Bhushan case once again. In paragraph-20 of the Judgment, it is observed that, Primarily, certain "information" was brought to the notice of "the Chief Justice of India" on which action was taken. In other words, notwithstanding the prayer in the application made by the learned amicus curiae, "the Chief Justice of India took cognizance" and directed to issue notice thereupon. It is on the basis of these observations, it was submitted that the bench presided over by the Chief Justice of India took cognizance of criminal contempt on the basis of certain information disclosed in the petition filed by amicus curiae.
Further, in Prashanth Bhushan''s case, an application was filed by amicus curiae in an "on going proceedings" and it came before the bench presided over by the Hon''ble Chief Justice. From further reading of the Judgment and more particularly, paragraph-20 thereof coupled with the Judgment in P.N. Duda''s case and in Bal Thackrey''s case, it appears to us that the order "issue notice" was passed by "the Hon''ble Chief Justice" on 6.11.2009, taking cognizance of the "certain information", and when that order was passed, Justice Kapadia (as he then was) was not party to the aforesaid order, as is seen from paragraph 3 of the judgment.
33. In P.N. Duda''s case, the Judgment of the Delhi High Court in Anil Kumar Gupta v. K. Subba Rao reported in ILR (1974) 1 Delhi 1, was considered and the passage therefrom was reproduced. From bare perusal of the quotation, it is clear that the office should follow the procedure in future if any "information" is lodged even in the form of a petition inviting the Court to take action u/s 15 of the Act or Article 215 of the constitution, where the "information" is not the one of the persons named in Section 15 of the said Act, it should not be styled as the petition and should not be placed on the judicial side. Such a petition should be placed before the Chief Justice for orders in chambers and the Chief Justice may decide either by himself or in consultation with the other Judges of the Court whether to take any cognizance of the "information".
34. Thus, on the administrative side, or for that matter "in an on going" proceedings before the Bench presided over by the Hon''ble Chief Justice on the judicial side, the Hon''ble Chief Justice is empowered/expected to decide either himself or in consultation with other Judges whether to take any cognizance of the "information" and if the Hon''ble Chief Justice finds that the "information disclosed" deserves to be taken cognizance of he can direct the office to place the matter before the appropriate bench, as contemplated by Clause (i) of Rule 8 read with Rule 6 of the Rules, for taking cognizance for the contempt of Court. Thus, from the Prashanth Bhushan''s case, it is clear that if the issue involved in the proceedings/petition had greater impact on the administration of justice and on the justice delivery system, the Court is competent to go into the contempt proceedings even without the consent of the Attorney General, as the case may be.
35. Similarly, we find force in the submission that though the Hon''ble Chief Justice of India while dealing with the application on judicial side in on going proceedings issued notice, it was only taking cognizance of the "certain Information" disclosed in the petition filed by amicus curiae. The Hon''ble Chief Justice of India did not take cognizance for contempt of the Court and had only directed to place the matter before appropriate Bench. It is in this backdrop, the Supreme Court without disturbing the law laid down in P.N. Duda''s case and in Bal Thackrey''s case, rejected the contention urged on behalf of Prashanth Bhushan, holding that the contempt proceedings was initiated by the Court on its own motion and it is covered by clause (a) of Rule 3 of the Rules to regulate proceedings for contempt of the Supreme Court, 1975. Clause (a) of Rule 3 of the Supreme Court Rules and sub-rule (v) of the Rule 5 of the Rules is analogous to sub-rule (v) of Rule 5 of the Rules, which envisages suo motu action on the basis of the "information disclosed".
36. Sub-rule (v) of the Rule 5 of the Rules states that ''Nothing shall preclude the "High Court" from taking action suo motu on the basis of the "information disclosed". Rule 8 read with Rule 6 of the Rules provide for Preliminary hearing and notice and that every such petition should be posted for preliminary hearing before the appropriate bench of not less than two judges. Sub-rule (v) of rule 5 of the Rules speaks about the power of "the High Court". Rule 2 (iii) of the Rules defines "High Court" which means the High Court of Karnataka. The words High Court in sub-rule (v), therefore, cannot be read to mean the appropriate Bench. Rule 8 speaks about the procedure to be adopted while dealing with the reference or petition by the "appropriate bench".
37. Thus, from plain reading of Rule 5, 6, 7 and 8, it is clear that in case of criminal contempt of the High Court, the Complainant should state whether he has obtained the consent of the Advocate General, and if so, produce the same, and if no such consent is obtained nothing precludes the "High Court" from taking action suo-motu on the basis of the "information disclosed" in the petition. In that event, if the "information disclosed" in the petition and annexures thereto deserve suo motu action, Hon''ble the Chief Justice, after forming a prima-facie opinion, can make an order, on the administrative side, to place such information before the "appropriate bench" as has been held in P.N. Duda''s case. Thus, it is only when Hon''ble the Chief Justice on the administrative side takes "cognizance of the information" the petition would go before "the appropriate bench". No bench (appropriate Bench) of this Court can take suo motu cognizance of the criminal contempt, on the basis of the "information disclosed" in a petition filed without the written consent of the Advocate General, unless such petition is placed before the Bench by Hon''ble the Chief Justice.
38. The office should place such a petition before Hon''ble the Chief Justice on administrative side for appropriate action/order. The law laid down by the Supreme Court in P.N. Duda''s case and in Bal Thackrey''s case has not been disturbed either in Prashanth Bhushan case or any other case so far. In other words, it is not brought to our notice by learned Counsel for the complainants any Judgment of the Supreme Court taking contrary view or upsetting the view taken and/or upsetting the procedure laid down in P.N. Duda''s case. Moreover, in the present case, we cannot overlook the fact that the complainants have not made any prayer in the petition for taking suo motu cognizance on the basis of the "information disclosed" in the petition and the annexures thereto. In Bal Thackrey''s case, the Supreme Court has indicated that suo motu cognizance can be taken only if the complainants make such prayer if the petition is filed without written consent of the Attorney General. If such prayer was made, the office, perhaps, would have placed the petition before Hon''ble the Chief Justice on administrative side. In the present case though the Advocate General rejected the application of the complainants, who are advocates practicing in this Court, seeking written consent to file this petition, they did not make prayer to take suo motu cognizance of the "information disclosed" by them in the petition.
39. We are satisfied that the provisions of the Act and the Rules had not been strictly adhered to either by the petitioners or by the office before placing the petition before us. The procedure laid down by the Supreme Court in P.N. Duda''s case and in Bal Thackrey''s case was also completely overlooked by them. Therefore, in our opinion continuation of this petition in the present form would amount to curating the defect without following the due procedure. The Registry ought to have placed the petition filed by the complainants before the Hon''ble Chief Justice on administrative side since it was filed without obtaining written consent of the learned Advocate General. There was no reason for the registry to place the matter before the appropriate bench raising an objection about its maintainability for want of written consent of the Advocate General. We are not adopting such course (directing the registry to place it before Hon''ble the Chief Justice) since there is no prayer in the petition seeking suo motu action of contempt (criminal) against the alleged contemnors. In the result, we answer the first question formulated by us in paragraph No. 7 of the Judgment in the negative holding that the law laid down by the Supreme Court in P.N. Duda''s Case and Bal Thackrey''s Case would apply to the High Courts in suo-motu action of a Criminal Contempt, post the judgment of the Supreme Court in Prashant Bhushan''s case. In other words, the judgment of the Supreme Court in P.N. Duda''s Case and Bal Thackrey''s Case (Supra) hold the field even today, and the due procedure laid down therein must be adhered while scrutinizing or dealing with the petitions, filed by a private party seeking action of criminal contempt of High Court on the basis of the information disclosed therein, if such petition is filed without seeking consent in writing of the Advocate General. In the result, the petition is dismissed.
