High Court of Calcutta
Bhagabati Prasad Banerjee, J.
Mra Chauphuri – Appellant
Versus
Ramnarayan Jha – Respondent
Decided On : May 11, 1990
CONTEMPT - Urban Land (Ceiling and Regulation) Act, 1976 - Section 19 - Violation of Interim Order - Contempt Proceedings.
Fact of the Case:
The petitioner, a public charitable trust, filed a writ petition challenging the notice issued by the Additional Collector (Ceiling), Ranchi, under the Urban Land (Ceiling and Regulation) Act, 1976. The High Court passed an interim order restraining the Additional Collector from taking any further steps in the matter. Despite the interim order, the Additional Collector refused to accept the notice of the writ petition and served a notice on the petitioner under Section 38 of the Act.
Finding of the Court:
The High Court held that the Additional Collector had willfully and deliberately violated the interim order of the court. The court found that the Additional Collector had no jurisdiction to proceed with the proceedings after the interim order was passed and that he had acted in a manner unbecoming of a public servant.
Issues: 1. Whether the Additional Collector had violated the interim order of the High Court? 2. Whether the Additional Collector had acted in a manner unbecoming of a public servant?
Ratio Decidendi: The High Court held that the Additional Collector had violated the interim order of the court by proceeding with the case despite the order. The court found that the Additional Collector had acted in a manner unbecoming of a public servant by refusing to accept the notice of the writ petition and by serving a notice on the petitioner under Section 38 of the Act.
Final Decision: The High Court found the Additional Collector guilty of contempt and directed that a copy of the order be forwarded to the Chief Secretary of the State of Bihar to be placed in the service record of the Additional Collector.
1. THE contempt application was filed for alleged violation of the interim order dated 1st October 1985 passed by this court in C. O. No. 13552 (W) of 1985 against Sri Ramnarayan Jha, Additional collector, Land Ceiling Ranchi Bihar on 1st October 1985 on the writ application filed by the writ petitioner. The following interim order was passed -
"ad-interim order of injunction restraining the respondents herein front taking any steps or further steps and/or actions under the purported proceeding and/or the pretended Notification dated September 3, 1985 being Annexure 'e' to this petition in any manner whatsoever arid/or creating any disturbance and/or interference in any manner whatsoever pending the disposal of the Rule."
2. THE case of the petitioner in the writ application was that the petitioners were the trustees of the Charitable Educational Trust under the name of sarasibala Debi Trust created under a deed of trust dated 29th March 1966 which was registered at Calcutta. The said trust holds several properties including the property at Ranchi where the trust has established, set up and is running a free charitable primary school in village Gari. District Ranchi for the benefit of poor and backward Adibassi children residing in the adjoining villages. The School was set up to carry out the object of the said trust. The relevant provisions of the said Trust deed were that the net Income of the trust property shall be used and applied for charitable purpose without reference to caste and creed and to help and promote education and learning, including primary higher and college education for boys and girls etc. The other object of the trust was to give monetary help to educational institutions including libraries, pathsalas. Fine Art Classes etc. and also to give doles to poor students in cash or in kind, free food and the like. In short the purpose of the trust was wholly public and charitable. In the said free primary charitable institution about 100 Adibasi students read and there are more than two teachers whose remunerations are paid out of the income of the trust and donation by the trustees made from time to time. The main income is derived from the house rent in premises no. 2 Hazaribagh Road Ranchi being the property of the trust which at present in under the occupation of the Animal husbandry Department of the Government of Bihar. Apart from the building occupied by the Animal Husbandry Department there is land measuring 6. 33 acres, a portion of which is earmarked for the purpose of setting up 'surendranath Centenary School for which steps have been taken and is in a fairly advanced stage to accordance with the provisions of the trust deed. It may be mentioned that Sarasibala Devi in whose name the trust was created, was a daughter of Rastraguru Surendranath Banerjee and mother of Ranadeb chaudhury, the propounder and founder of the said trust. The property which was the subject matter of the proceedings was the original property of late rastraguru Surendranath Banerjee and subsequently purchased by his grandson Sri Ranadeb Chaudhury for the purpose of setting up an education complex and made it over to Sarasi Bala Devi Trust for advancement of education through the said Public Charitable Trust. The said trust was duly registered with the Registrar of Assurances and Income Tax department as a charitable trust. For the purpose of setting up the said Centenary School at Ranchi the trust had kept in deposit a sum of Rupees ten lakhs in the State bank of India, Ranchi. It was also pointed out that the said Animal Husbandry department had been regular defaulters in the payment of rent; they totally stopped payment of any rent from March 1982. Under such circumstances, the said trust instituted a suit for eviction in the District Court at Ranchi on the ground of default and personal requirement for the purpose of setting up the said school. It is stated that evidences of both parties were taken and the matter was f
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