Charan
Lal Sahu Vs. Union of India & ANR [1987] INSC 277 (9 October 1987)
MISRA
RANGNATH MISRA RANGNATH SINGH, K.N. (J)
CITATION:
1988 AIR 107 1988 SCR (1) 441 1988 SCC (3) 255 JT 1987 (4) 128 1987 SCALE
(2)754
ACT:
Contempt
of Court Act, 1971: s. 15-Writ Petition by way of public interest
litigation-Couched in unsavoury language with a designed attempt to lower the
prestige of the Court- Petitioner issued show cause for contempt of Court.
HEADNOTE:
The
petitioner, an advocate, filed the application by way of a public interest
litigation alleging that the working of the Judges of the apex Court was
cocktail, based on Western Common Law and American techniques; that the Court
had become a constitutional liability without having control over the illegal
acts of Government, and that the Court was sleeping over the issues.
Dismissing
the writ petition, ^ HELD: The petitioner is prima facie guilty of contempt.
The
petition is clearly intended to denigrate the Court in.
the
esteem of the people of India. The allegations are clumsy. It is an intentional
attempt at lowering the prestige of the Court as the apex Judicial Institution.
[442G,
D; 443A] The Registry to draw up an appropriate proceeding for contempt of
court and issue notice to the petitioner. [443C] The petition is an act against
public interest. The petitioner has certainly overstepped the limit of self
restraint so much necessary in such litigation. The Registry directed not to
entertain any public interest litigation application filed by the petitioner in
future. [443E]
ORIGINAL
JURISDICTION:
Writ Petition (Civil) No. 849 of 1987.
(Under
Article 32 of the Constitution of India).
Petitioner-in-person
and M.S.Ganesh for the petitioner.
442
K. Parasaran, Attorney General and Ms. A. Subhashini for the Respondents.
The
following order of the Court was delivered:
O
R D E R This application has been filed by an Advocate of this Court by way of
a public interest litigation. It had been listed earlier and learned Attorney
General had entered appearance on behalf of the Union of India.
We
have heard the petition. It has been couched in unsavoury language and the
petitioner seems to have made an intentional attempt to indulge in mud-slinging
against the advocates, this Court in particular as also other constitutional
institutions. Many of the allegations in his writ petition are likely to lower
the prestige of this Court as the apex judicial institution. At one place in
the writ petition, he has alleged:- "Thus the working of the Judges are
cocktail based on Western Common Laws and American techniques, as such
unproductive and out dated according to socio-economic conditions of the
country. " At one another place, the petitioner has stated that:
"This
Court has become a constitutional liability without having control over the
illegal acts of the Government ...... Thus the people for whom the Constitution
is meant have now turned down their faces against it which is a did-illusionment
for fear that justice is a will of the Wisp." Yet at another place the
petitioner has stated that this Court is sleeping over the issues like
'Kumbhkarna.' The reading of the writ petition gives the impression that it is
clearly intended to denigrate this Court in the esteem of the people of India.
We are of the priam facie view that the petition has been drawn up with a
designed purpose of bringing the Court into contempt and the petitioner is,
therefore, prima facie guilty of contempt.
The
writ petition has been drafted in a careless manner. At several places the
pleadings are meaningless. At several other places 443 they are contradictory. The
allegations are clumsy and several irrelevant facts have been put into the
petition to inflate its size.
The
petitioner has left out no institution from his attempt of mud-slinging. We
have a feeling that while drawing up the petition the petitioner has considered
him self to be the only blemishless person and everyone else including social
institutions to be blame-worthy. We are surprised that an advocate practising
in this Court with considerable experience has choosen to act in such an
irresponsible manner. The writ petition, in our opinion, therefore, deserves to
be dismissed. We, accordingly, dismiss the writ petition.
We
direct the Registry to draw up an appropriate proceeding for contempt and issue
notice to the petitioner calling upon him to show cause in person on 9.11.1987
as to why he may not be proceeded under the Contempt of Court Act.
At
page 41 of his petition, the petitioner has stated.- "This is a public
interest litigation in the interest of independence of judiciary and social
justice .. " We are of the view that the petition is an act against public
interest. The petitioner has certainly over-stepped the limit of self-restraint,
so much necessary in a public interest litigation. We direct the Registry not
to entertain any application by way of public interest litigation by the
petitioner in future.
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