Section 20 of the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971, prescribing a period of limitation for initiation of contempt proceedings, applies to cases of contempt of the High Court, which is a Court of Record under Article 215 of the Constitution of India.

M. JAGANNADHA RAO, J.

( 1 ) THIS contempt application has been filed by the Advocate General against the respondent who was acting as an Additional District and Sessions Judge at Cuddapah. I do not propose to mention the various allegations made in the Contempt application but it is sufficient to say that the allegation is that the action of the respondent on 16-4-82 and 4-5-82 amounted to contempt of a stay order granted by this court on 15-4-82 in Crl. MP. 835/82 in Crl. MP 834/82. This contempt application has been filed in the High Court on 2-11-82 and was posted before a learned co-single Judge on 3-12-82 who was the same Judge who passed the stay orders on 15-4-82 and therefore he directed that the contempt case be posted before another learned judge. Thereafter this contempt petition was posted before another learned judge on 7-12-82 who adjourned the matter for a period of six months. Thereafter the petition was first listed before me on 24-6-83 and the learned Advocate General requested for an adjournment by four weeks which was granted by me. The matter was again posted on 19-8-83 and on that day I issued notice before admission and Sri C. Padmanabha Reddy, Advocate appeared for the respondent and stated that the petition cannot be proceeded with inasmuch as a period of one year has elapsed from the date of the alleged contempt and relied upon Section 20 of the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971 (hereinafter called the 1971 Act ). Thereafter I heard the matter on 23-8-83, 9-9-83 and 16-9-83. That is how it has become necessary to decide the question of limitation.

( 2 ) TWO questions arise in this case. The first one is whether the period of limitation prescribed by Section 20 of the 1971 Act is attracted to cases of contempt of the High Court which is a Court of Record under Art. 215 of the Constitution of India. The second question is : Whether for purposes of Section 20 of 1971 Act the material date was the date of filing of the contempt application or the date of initiation of the contempt proceedings and as to what is meant by initiation. I shall now deal with these two questions.

( 3 ) THE first question that arises for consideration in the contempt application is whether the provisions of Section 20 of the Contempt of courts Act, 1971 prescribing a period of limitation for initiation of a contempt proceeding applies to contempts of the High Court which is a Court of Record. S. 20 of the contempt of Courts Act, 1971 reads as follows :-"section 20, Limitation for action of contempt : No court shall initiate any proceedings for contempt, either on its own motion or otherwise, after the expiry of a period of one year from the date on which the contempt is alleged to have been committed. "

( 4 ) THERE is no dispute that the above section applies to cases where the High Court initiates proceedings for contempt of a court subordinate to it. The Constitution of India provides in Article 215, that :-"every High Court shall be Court of Record and shall have all the powers of such a court including the power to punish for contempt of itself. "there is no doubt that the special status of the High Court under Art. 215 of the Constitution of India and of the Supreme Court under Art. 129 is expressly declared. A Court of Record has not been defined either in the constitution or in the General Clauses Act.

( 5 ) COURTS of Record are those whose acts and judicial proceedings are enrolled for a perpetual memorial and testimony. Their proceedings are preserved in their archives and are conclusive evidence of that which is recorded therein. Whether a court is a Court of Record or not depends on whether it has power to fine and imprison, whether for contempt of itself or for other substantive offences.

( 6 ) I have to decide whether the constitutional provisions cannot be made subject to any limitations and whether the provision in Section 20 of 1971 Act is ultra virus or is to be read down and to be confined in its application to contemp

Click Here to Read the rest of this document