Judgment

A.S. Anand, J.

1. Leave granted.

2. This is an unusual case. The observations, comments and allegations made and the order passed by a learned Single Judge of the Rajasthan High Court, Mr. Justice Shethna, in relation to a disposed of writ petition, by sending for its record in a totally unrelated and unconnected criminal revision petition, which have been put in issue in this appeal, touch not only upon the discipline of the High Court and the powers of the Chief Justice to assign cases and allot Benches but also the larger issue of judicial propriety. The order directing issuance of notice of contempt to the Chief Justice of the High Court raises a fundamental question about the jurisdiction of a single Judge to issue such a notice in the established facts of the case. It is not individuals but the prestige of the Institution which is at stake in this case. The manner in which 'allegations' have been made against the Chief Justice of the High Court, the Division Bench of the High Court which had disposed of the writ petition and some of the former Chief Justices of the Rajasthan High Court, including the present Chief Justice of India, Mr. Justice J.S. Verma, has caused us much anguish. We wish we did not have to deal with a case like this but we shall be singularly failing in our duties to the Institution, if we do not deal with the matter and take it to its logical conclusion. First, some salient facts :

3. Writ Petition No. 2949 of 1996 was filed, as a Public Interest Litigation, on 9.9.1996 in the High Court of Rajasthan at Jodhpur by an Advocate of that court, inter alia seeking directions to provide suitable accommodation to the Judges of the Rajasthan High Court and for certain other benefits for the Judges. During the proceedings of the writ petition certain interim orders came to be made by Shethna, J. from time to time. On 29.4.1997 Shethna, J. directed the writ petition to be treated as part-heard at the `request' of learned counsel for the parties. In the meanwhile, Shri D.R. Bhandari, Advocate, filed an application for being impleaded as petitioner No. 2 in that writ petition. He inter alia challenged the legality and validity of the constitution of a Bench of the High Court at Jaipur as also the order of the State Government declaring bungalow No. A/2 at Jaipur as the Guest House for the exclusive use of the Chief Justice and bungalow No. A/5 at Jaipur as the High Court Guest House. Certain other issues were also raised by Shri Bhandari in that application. Over-ruling the objections raised by the respondent therein inter alia, to the effect that the application of Shri Bhandari would widen the scope of the writ petition, the application of Shri Bhandari was allowed by Shethna, J. on 29.7.1997 and he was impleaded as petitioner No. 2 in the writ petition. The case was then adjourned from time to time on being listed as part-heard before the learned Single Judge. In the meantime, the roster was changed and Shethna, J. was required to sit in a Division Bench instead of sitting singly between 4.9.1997 and 12.9.1997. On 8.9.1997, the Additional Advocate General for the State of Rajasthan moved an application under Rule 55 of the Rules of the High Court of Judicature for Rajasthan (hereinafter the Rules) with the prayer that since challenge to the legality and validity of the constitution of a Bench of the High Court at Jaipur had been raised by petitioner No. 2, Shri Bhandari, Writ Petition No. 2949/96 should be referred to a Division Bench for hearing. By an administrative order, the Chief Justice directed, on 8.9.1997, that the application filed by the Additional Advocate General be put up for orders on the next day at 10.30 a.m. A judicial order then came to be made on 9.9.1997 by the Chief Justice, in presence of all the parties to the writ petition. It was directed that the writ petition should be listed before a Division Bench of the High Court comprising Mr. Justice M.P. Singh and Mr. Justice B.S. Chauh