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BOMBAY HIGH COURT
A.S. Oka and Anuja Prabhudessai, JJ.
The Hon’ble High Court, Mumbai, On its Own Motion and Anr. —Petitioners
versus
State of Maharashtra and Ors. —Respondents
Criminal Suo Motu Contempt Petition No.3 of 2015 along with Civil Writ Petition No.6093 of 2015
Decided on 15.9.2017
Counsel for the Parties:
Criminal Suo Motu Contempt Petition No.3 of 2015
For the State: Dr. F.R. Shaikh, APP
For the Respondent No.3:Shri Sachin Suryakant Punde, Advocate
For the Respondent Nos.4 to 6:Shri Sandeep Shripad Koregave, Advocate
For the Respondent Nos.3 and 4 – Bar Association:Shri A.Y. Sakhare, Senior Advocate and Mr. Tejpal Ingale, Advocate
For the Lanja Bar Association, Guhagar Bar Association, and Ratnagiri Bar Association:Shri Harshad Bhadbhade along with Shri Saurabh Butala, Advocate
For the Sangli Bar Association:Shri Umesh R. Mankapure along with Shri Vinod Sangvikar, Advocate
For the Solapur Bar Association:Shri Rajshekhar S. Alange, Advocate
For the Sindhudurg Bar Association:Shri Bushan Walimbe, Advocate
For the Dapoli Bar Association:Shri Prashant Bhavake, Advocate
For the Pune Bar Association:Shri Nilesh Wable, Advocate
Civil Writ Petition No.6093 of 2015
For the Petitioners:Shri Kushal Mor along with Ms Juhi Mehrotra, Advocate
For the Respondent No.1: Shri Manish Pabale, AGP
For the Respondent No.2:Shri S.R. Shinde, Advocate
For the Respondent No.4:Shri Sudam Kale along with Shri Makarand Bakre, Advocate
IMPORTANT POINT
The action of the members of the Bar to abstain from the Court work amounts to criminal contempt as it directly interferes with the administration of justice. Such action lowers the dignity of the Court.
Headnote:Criminal Contempt—Decision/action of members of Bar Associations of abstaining from court work and acts of office bearers of Bar Association calling upon members of Bar to abstain from court work or boycott court proceedings amounts to a criminal contempt—Such action lowers the dignity of court—A lawyer who had accepted a brief cannot refuse to attend court because a boycott call is given by the Bar Association—Office bearers of Bar Associations gave a call to abstain from court work in support of their demand for establishment of a bench of High Court of Mumbai at Pune/Kolhapur—It amounted to criminal contempt—Unconditional apology by affidavit filed by office bearers and stating further that they will not indulge in any illegal activities—In light of apologies tendered and entertaining on oath, contemnors deserved sympathy by being shown mercy—Contempt notices discharged.
Held: The issue involved in these Petitions is “whether the decision and/or the action of members of various Bar Associations of abstaining from the Court work and the acts of office bearers of the Bar Associations/Action Committee of the Advocates calling upon the members of the Bar to abstain from the Court work or boycott the Court proceedings in support of their demand for establishment of a bench of this Court at Pune/Kolhapur amount to a criminal contempt ?”
In Paragraph 9, this Court considered the decisions of the Apex Court in the cases of Ex.Capt. Harish Uppal v. Union of India and others, (2003)2 SCC 45 and Common Cause, a Registered Society v. Union of India and others, (2006)9 SCC 304. After quoting the relevant portions of the said order dated 16th September 2015, in Paragraph 9, this Court observed thus:
“..... Thus, the action of the members of the Bar to abstain from the Court work amounts to criminal contempt as it directly interferes with the administration of justice. Such action lowers the dignity of the Court. As far as the members of the Kolhapur Bar Association are concerned, prima facie, their conduct of taking mock of funeral procession of the Hon’ble the Chief Justice in the Court premises and burning the effigy in the Court premises aggravates the contempt. This amounts to lowering the dignity of this Court. Not only that this conduct lowers the dignity of the Court of law but we are constrained to observe that the said conduct has lowered the dignity of the noble legal profession. From the reports of the Principal District Judges, it appears that the members of the Bar in Kolhapur District Court abstained from the work on the basis of the appeal made by the Kolhapur Bar Association. As far as District Sindhudurg is concerned, the Advocates abstained from the Court work on the basis of the appeal made by the Sindhudurg District Bar Association. The learned Principal District Judge, Ratnagiri records that the Bar Associations of Dapoli, Ratnagiri, Lanja and Guhagar made an appeal to the members of the Bar to abstain from the Court work. As far as District Satara is concerned, the members of the Bar abstained from the Court work on the basis of the appeal made by the Satara District Bar Association as well as the Bar Associations of Medha, Dahiwadi, Waduj and Koregaon. The office bearers of all the aforesaid Associations are prima facie guilty of Criminal Contempt. Moreover, the office bearers of the Kolhapur Bench Action Committee are prima facie guilty of Criminal Contempt as it is reported that the Bar Associations acted on the basis of the appeal made by the said Committee.”
All the Contemnors who have filed the affidavits have tendered apology. No one has disputed the legal position that the Bar Associations or the members of the bar have no right to abstain from the Court work or to boycott the Court proceedings or Lok Adalats in support of their demand for establishing a Bench or Circuit Bench of this Court at a particular place. Some of them, as stated above, have given undertakings not to indulge in such illegal acts till disposal of the Contempt Petition.
The legal position is crystal clear. Such acts of the Advocates of boycotting the Courts or abstaining from the Court work including the work of LokAdalats or making an appeal to the members of the Bar to do so in support of a demand for establishing a bench of this Court is not only illegal but the same amounts to committing both a civil and criminal contempt.
It is unfortunate that some members of the Kolhapur Bar Associations participated in the agitation on 8th September 2015 which included an act of taking a mock funeral procession of the then Hon’ble the Chief Justice of this Court and thereafter, an act of burning the effigy of the then Chief Justice. A Chief Justice of this Court on his last working day ought not to have been attacked in this fashion.
The Kolhapur Bar Association and the Kolhapur Bench Action Committee had given a call for abstaining from Court work on 9th to 11th September 2015. The members of the Bar in Districts of Kolhapur, Sangli and Satara as well as members of the Bar at few places in Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg Districts abstained from the Court work accordingly. Therefore, the members of the said Associations are guilty of committing criminal contempt. Only in the light of the apologies tendered and undertakings on oath that we are showing mercy though they deserve no sympathy. If hereafter the members of the Bar take recourse to strike or boycott in support of their demand for establishing a bench or circuit Bench, it will be an act of aggravated criminal contempt which will be dealt with strictly and firmly. No member of the Bar can openly and blatantly defy the decisions of the Apex Court. The act of causing enormous harm to the interests of litigants and reputation of the institution will not be tolerated in future.
Accordingly, we dispose of the Petitions by passing the following order:
Order
(a) The apologies tendered by the Contemnors and the undertakings given by them to this Court are accepted;
(b) The Contempt notices are discharged;
(c) The Criminal Suo Moto Contempt Petition and the Civil Writ Petition are disposed of on above terms. (Paras 1, 10, 42 to 46)
Result: Petition disposed of.
JUDGMENT
A.S. Oka, J.— Issue involved:
The issue involved in these Petitions is “whether the decision and/or the action of members of various Bar Associations of abstaining from the Court work and the acts of office bearers of the Bar Associations/Action Committee of the Advocates calling upon the members of the Bar to abstain from the Court work or boycott the Court proceedings in support of their demand for establishment of a bench of this Court at Pune/Kolhapur amount to a criminal contempt?”
Orders Passed on the Administrative Side:
2. On 30th June 2015, the Registrar (Judicial-I) submitted a note before the Hon’ble the Chief Justice on the administrative side seeking following prayer:
“(A) To initiate suomotu Criminal Contempt proceeding against the Chairman, office bearers and members of the Pune Bar Association who have resorted to the weapon of strike and paralyzed administration of justice system by giving call of indefinite strike.”
3. The Hon’ble the Chief Justice granted the said prayer and directed by an administrative order dated 2nd July 2015 that a Suo Moto Criminal Contempt proceeding should be initiated which should be placed before a Bench presided over by one of us (A.S.Oka, J).
4. Writ Petition is filed by a litigant for bringing to the notice of this Court the situation created by the members of the Pune Bar Association by abstaining from the Court work.
Reference to the Orders Passed by the Court from Time to Time:
5. Thereafter, various orders were passed by a Bench presided over by one of us (A.S.Oka, J). First few orders concern abstention from the Court work by the members of the Bar in the Courts in Pune District in support of their demand for establishing a bench of this Court at Pune. In Paragraph 3 of the order dated 3rd July 2015 passed in the present Petitions, this Court observed thus:
“3. In Writ Petition No.6093 of 2015, the Third Respondent Shri Girish Shedge, the President of Pune Bar Association is represented by Shri Dhakephalkar, the learned senior counsel. On a query being made by the Court, on instructions, he states that on the basis of a Resolution passed by the Pune Bar Association, from 19th June 2015 onwards, the lawyers are abstaining from work in all the Civil and Criminal Courts as well as Tribunals in Pune District. On instructions, he states that the lawyers are protesting against the failure of the State Government to recommend establishment of a Bench of this Court at Pune. Thus, the admitted position is that for such a long period from 19th June 2015, the lawyers at Pune are boycotting all Civil and Criminal Courts as well as Tribunals in Pune District. As a result of this, a large number of litigants are forced to approach this Court especially on the Criminal Side for seeking urgent reliefs.”
6. Paragraphs 1 and 2 of the order dated 6th July 2015 passed in these Petitions read thus:
“1. Learned Senior Counsel representing the Pune Bar Association states that on Saturday, 4th July, 2015, a Resolution has been passed by the Pune Bar Association withdrawing the earlier Resolution, by which the members of the Pune Bar were called upon to abstain from Court work. We accept the said statement. We direct the President of the Pune Bar Association to place on record a copy of the said Resolution along with an affidavit.
2. In view of the prima facie findings recorded in the order dated 3rd July, 2015, before we consider of taking further action, the issue is whether the office bearers of the Pune Bar Association are willing to tender an apology for committing the breach of the law laid down by the Apex Court. The other issue is whether the office bearers are willing to give an undertaking on oath that in future, they themselves will not indulge in any such activities and they will not encourage any one else to engage in such activities.”
7. Under the order dated 20th July 2015, a notice was issued of criminal contempt to the office bearers of Pune Family Court Bar Association. P
