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HIGH COURT OF CALCUTTA
CHAKRABARTI, P. B. MUKHARJI
TARAFATULLAH MANDAL - Appellant
Versus
S. N. MAITRA - Respondent
Criminal Misc. 332 Of 1951
Decided On : DECEMBER 21, 1951
CONTEMPT OF COURT - [ARTICLE 226 OF THE CONSTITUTION OF INDIA] - [WEST BENGAL LAND DEVELOPMENT AND PLANNING ACT, 1948] - [RULE NISI] - [INTERIM ORDERS] - [ACTS OF AGGRESSION] - [COMMITTAL TO PRISON] - [STATE OF WEST BENGAL] - [IMPLEADING THE STATE] - [CORRECT PROCEDURE] - [ATTACHMENT OR COMMITTAL OF AN OFFICER] - [APPLICATION FOR LEAVE TO PROCEED] - [SERVICE OF ORDER] - [KNOWLEDGE OF ORDER] - [BURDEN OF PROOF] - [DISMISSAL OF PETITION FOR CONTEMPT].
Fact of the Case:
Petitioners claimed to be owners of certain lands in village Gokulpore in the District of 24 Parganas. They alleged that opposite parties were taking various steps to deprive them of their lands in purported and illegal exercise of their supposed powers under the West Bengal Land Development and Planning Act, 1948, which was an ultra vires piece of legislation. A petition was moved on their behalf for various writs against the first opposite party and the State of West Bengal. Bose J. issued a Rule Nisi and in the meantime passed interim orders in terms of prayers (a), (b) and (c) against the present opposite party No. 1 and the State of West Bengal. It was alleged that in spite of those orders being passed and with knowledge of them, opposite parties Nos. 1 and 2 continued their interference with the lands of the petitioners. Not only did they not desist from proceeding with the proceedings of acquisition, but they also caused actual acts of aggression to be done and opposite parties Nos. 3, 4 and 5 forcibly trespassed into certain plots of land belonging to the petitioners, sank a tube well in one of them and felled trees in others.
Finding of the Court:
1. The State of West Bengal cannot be impleaded as a party in contempt proceedings, as it is not a legal and juristic entity in the same sense as a corporation or a joint stock company. 2. A contempt proceeding against a Government officer must be taken out against the particular officer or officers who have disobeyed the order of the Court. 3. Leave of the Court is not required to proceed against a Government officer in contempt. 4. It is essential to establish service of the order of the Court, the precise act of contempt, the responsibility of the contemner, and the date of the alleged contempt being subsequent to the service of the order. 5. Knowledge of the order of the Court is a fundamental postulate for contempt. 6. The petitioners failed to prove that the alleged acts of contempt were committed after the service of the order on the respondents.
Issues: 1. Whether the State of West Bengal can be impleaded as a party in contempt proceedings? 2. Whether leave of the Court is required to proceed against a Government officer in contempt? 3. What are the essential elements that must be established in a contempt proceeding? 4. Whether the petitioners have established the necessary elements to prove contempt of court?
Ratio Decidendi: 1. The State of West Bengal is not a legal and juristic entity in the same sense as a corporation or a joint stock company, and therefore cannot be impleaded as a party in contempt proceedings. 2. Leave of the Court is not required to proceed against a Government officer in contempt. 3. The essential elements that must be established in a contempt proceeding are: (i) service of the order of the Court, (ii) the precise act of contempt, (iii) the responsibility of the contemner, and (iv) the date of the alleged contempt being subsequent to the service of the order. 4. The petitioners failed to prove that the alleged acts of contempt were committed after the service of the order on the respondents, and therefore failed to establish the necessary elements to prove contempt of court.
Final Decision: The Rule Nisi was discharged, and the petitioners were ordered to pay costs.
( 1 ) THIS is a Rule on five persons requiring them to show cause why they should not be proceeded against for contempt for having disregarded and disobeyed certain interim orders made by Bose J. while granting a Rule nisi on an application under Article 226 of the Constitution of India. Of the five persons, the first is Sri S, N. Maitra, Collector of 24 Parganas; the second is the State of West Bengal, represented by Sri S. Banerjee; the third is Sri S. N. Roy, Belief Officer of Basirhat; the fourth is Sri Prafulla Chandra Dob Boy, Superintendent, Refugee Camp, Basirhat; and the fifth is Sri Atul Krishna Gain, Kanungo at Basirhat.
( 2 ) THE petitioners are three in number and claim to be owners of certain lands in village Gokulpore in the District of 24 Parganas. It appears that on 20-8-1951, a petition was moved on their behalf and on behalf of certain other persons for various writs against the first opposite party and the State of West Bengal on the allegation that they were taking various steps to deprive the-petitioners of their lands in purported and illegal exercise of their supposed powers under the West Bengal Land Development and Planning Act, 1948, which was an ultra vires piece of legislation. A schedule to the petition gave particulars of the lands in respect of which the rights of the petitioners were alleged to have been invaded. The writ, asked for by prayer (a) of the petition, was a writ of Mandamus, directing the opposite parties therein to forbear from depriving the petitioners of their property by way of any orders under Act 21 of 1948; that, asked for by prayer (b), was a writ of prohibition, prohibiting the opposite parties from taking any stop under the aforesaid Act; and the writ, asked for by prayer (c), was a direction upon The opposite parties to forbear from taking any steps under the Act already mentioned. Bose J. , it appears, did not issue any writ straightaway, but instead issued a Rule Nisi and in the meantime he passed interim orders in terms of prayers (a), (b) and (c ). Those orders were necessarily only against the present opposite party No. 1 and the State of West Bengal.
( 3 ) IT is alleged that in spite of those orders being passed and with knowledge of them, opposite parties Nos. 1 and 2 continued their interference with the lands of the petitioners. Not only did they not desist from proceeding with the proceedings of acquisition, but they also caused actual acts of aggression to be done and opposite parties Nos. 3, 4 and 5 forcibly trespassed into certain plots of land belonging to the petitioners, sank a tube well in one of them and felled trees in others. It was not stated in the petition when these acts had been done and the petitioners contented themselves with stating that they had been done after the interim orders had been made. The acts complained of constitute, in the submission of the petitioners, contempt of this Court and accordingly they prayed that the opposite parties might be committed to prison for wilfully flouting and disobeying the interim orders made by Bose J.
( 4 ) BEFORE proceeding further, it is necessary to say a word about the person or party impleaded as opposite party No. 2 in the petition. That party, as I have stated already, is "state of West Bengal, represented by Sri S. Banerjee, Secretary, Department of Land and Land Revenue. " It will thus be scone that the person or party said to be in contempt, so far as this opposite party is concerned, is the State of West Bengal itself. It will also be remembered that the prayer in the petition is that the opposite parties should be committed to prison. In effect, therefore, the petitioners are praying that the State of West Bengal, as represented by Sri S. Banerjee, should be committed to prison.
( 5 ) AS the practice of impleading the State as represented by some particular individual is becoming common in contempt proceedings, it seems necessary to point out what the correct procedure
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