( 1 ) THIS matter has been heard by us because the Division Bench consisting of P. D. Desai and S. B. Majmudar JJ. by their order dated 18/10/1979 came to the conclusion that prima facie respondents in this miscellaneous criminal application were guilty for their acts or omissions of civil contempt as defined in sec. 2 (b) of the Contempt of Courts Act 1971 inasmuch as there was a prima facie case that there was a wilful disobedience of the judgment direction and writ of this Court in Special Civil Application No. 806 of 1975. There was also a prima facie case according to the Division Bench that the respondents were guilty of criminal contempt under sec. 2 (c) of the Contempt of Courts Act inasmuch as their conduct acts or omissions throughout the proceedings were such as lowered or tended to lower the authority of this Court or interfered or tended to interfere with the administration of justice. Apart from the contempt of Court under the contempt of Court Act the Court also indicated that the question as to whether the respondents were liable to be dealt with in pursuance of the power of the Court flowing out of the provisions of Article 215 of the Constitution of India should he considered

( 2 ) THE facts leading to this application and the proceedings under the Contempt of Courts Act arise under the following circumstances. In Special Civil Application No. 2215 of 1979 the petitioner who was at all material times working as Probation Officer under the provisions of the Probation of Officer Act 1958 was served with a charge-sheet dated 24/12/1976 with regard to certain misconduct alleged against him so far as discharge of his duty was concerned. This charge-sheet was issued by the second respondent herein that is Director of Social Defence State of Gujarat. A department inquiry followed and by his report dated 28/06/1977 the Inquiry Officer found the petitioner guilty of charges levelled against him. After serving upon the petitioner a show cause notice regarding the penalty proposed to be imposed being show cause notice dated 29/06/1977 the second respondent by her order dated 31/08/1977 removed the petitioner from service. The petitioner challenged that order of removal from service in Special Civil Application No. 2215 of 197 ). The attention of the 2nd Respondent and of the State Government had been drawn to the legal position arising from an earlier decision of this High Court regarding the position of a Probation Officer appointed under the Probation of Offenders Act 1958

( 3 ) YET the order of removal from service was passed though the petitioner in Special Civil Application No. 2215 of 1979 had contended all along that he was a Gazetted Class II Officer that no penalty could have been imposed upon him by the second respondent and that the petitioner who was a Class II Gazetted Officer was entitled to a certain treatment in respect of imposition of penalty in view of the provisions of the Gujarat Civil Services (Discipline And Appeal) Rules 1971 and that penalty could have been imposed only by the State Government and by no one also

( 4 ) IT is necessary at this stage to mention that Special Civil Application No. 806 of 1975 decided by D. A. Desai J. (as he then was of this High Court) on 7/08/1975 it was held that the State of Gujarat and the Director of Social Defence must classify Probation Officers and the Chief Probation Officer as Gazetted Officers in Class II Service of the State of Gujarat. On an interpretation of rule 7 of the Gujarat Probation of Offenders Rules 1973 and other relevant statutory provisions D. A. Desai J. held that the petitioners of that petition namely Probation Officers and the Chief Probation Officer were entitled to be notified as Gazetted Officers holding Class II posts. A writ of mandamus directing the State of Gujarat and the Director of Social Defence to classify the petitioners of that petition as Gazetted Officers of Class II Service from the date on which the Gujarat