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PUNJAB & HARYANA HIGH COURT
Binod Kumar Roy and N.K.Sud JJ.
Court On Its Own Motion
Versus
Ajay Bansal
Criminal Original Contempt Petition No. 15 of 2003,
Decided On : FEBRUARY 11, 2004
CONTEMPT OF COURT - [KEYWORD] - [SUBJECT] - [ACT SECTION LIST] - [SUMMARY]
Fact of the Case:
Two news items were published in the Times of India and Hari Bhoomi newspapers, alleging that the appointment of Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel as a Judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court was influenced by political considerations and that the Intelligence Bureau report about his integrity was ignored by the Law Minister. A legal notice was also sent to the President of India, the Chief Justice of India, and Justice Goel, demanding the cancellation of his appointment.
Finding of the Court:
The Court held that the news items were malicious and scandalous, and were intended to tarnish the image of Justice Goel and the Collegiums of the High Court and the Supreme Court. The Court also held that the legal notice was an attempt to overawe the Judiciary and interfere in its independent functioning.
Issues: 1. Whether the news items published in the Times of India and Hari Bhoomi newspapers were malicious and scandalous, and were intended to tarnish the image of Justice Goel and the Collegiums of the High Court and the Supreme Court? 2. Whether the legal notice sent to the President of India, the Chief Justice of India, and Justice Goel was an attempt to overawe the Judiciary and interfere in its independent functioning?
Ratio Decidendi: 1. The Court held that the news items were malicious and scandalous, and were intended to tarnish the image of Justice Goel and the Collegiums of the High Court and the Supreme Court, based on the following factors: a) The caption of the news report in the Times of India, "Govt. ignored IB report on High Court Judge", was clearly contrary to the factual position, as the Law Minister had pointed out that the President had made some observations in Minutes of 3-5-2001, and the matter had been reconsidered by the Collegium of the High Court as well as that of the Supreme Court. b) The news report in the Times of India also ascribed observations made by the Law Minister to the Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court and the Collegium, which was an effort to support the caption that it is the Law Minister and the Government who had dismissed the Intelligence Bureau report. c) The news report published in the Hari Bhoomi newspaper also suggested that the President had rejected the name of Justice Goel, which was factually incorrect. d) The news items were published with the intention to convey an impression to the general reader that a dishonest person had been appointed as a Judge merely because of his political affiliation with the Lawyers Wing of R.S.S. 2. The Court held that the legal notice sent to the President of India, the Chief Justice of India, and Justice Goel was an attempt to overawe the Judiciary and interfere in its independent functioning, based on the following factors: a) The legal notice was served on the President of India, the Chief Justice of India, and Justice Goel, asking them to remove Justice Goel from his position or face a writ petition, which was an attempt to overawe the Judiciary. b) Describing Justice Goel as "alleged Justice" in the legal notice was an attempt to tarnish his image as a Judge.
Final Decision: The Court held Contemner Nos. 3 to 5 (the printer, publisher, and reporter of the Times of India newspaper) and Contemner No. 1 (the advocate who sent the legal notice) guilty of criminal contempt of Court. Contemner No. 1 was fined Rs. 2,000/- to be deposited within three months, failing which he would undergo simple imprisonment of two months. Contemners Nos. 3 to 5 were required to file affidavits expressing their unconditional and unqualified apology and assuring the Court that they would not repeat such conduct in the future.
N.K.SUD, J.
1. These contempt proceedings emanate from the news items published in the Times of India (Chandigarh Edition) dated 8-5-2003 and in Hari Bhoomi dated 9-5-2003 and also a legal notice addressed to His Excellency the President of India, the Hon ble Chief Justice of India and Shri Adarsh Kumar Goel, a Judge of our High Court, by Shri Ajay Bansal, Advocate (Contemner No. 1).
2. Following news item had been published in the newspaper Times of India (Chandigarh Edition) dated 8-5-2003 :
"Govt. ignored IB report on High Court Judge By Akshaya Mukul Times News Network New Delhi : The arrest of former Delhi High Court Judge Shameet Mukherjee for his alleged involvement in the DDA scan has led Law Minister Arun Jaitley to speed up legislation to ensure transparency in appointments and check cases of improper behaviour by Judges. However, documents available with the Times of India on the appointment of High Court Judges in 2001 suggest that the Union Law Minister has itself been willing to overlook questions raised by the Intelligence Bureau about the integrity of candidates. The case in point was the May, 2001 appointment of Punjab and Haryana High Court Judge Adarsh Kumar Goel. High Court Judges are appointed in the following way: The State Government sends a list of names through the governor to the Chief Justices of the Supreme Court and the concerned High Court. This list is then sent to the Law Ministry, which obtains an IB report on the nominees. Thereafter, it prepares a matrix with three criteria professional competence, integrity and political links. In the case of Goel, the Law Ministry matrix contains no entry under the Professional Competence column, while the Reputation/Integrity column bluntly says: "Corrupt person." The key to his subsequent appointment appears to be the listing in the political affiliation column, which notes that Goel was General Secretary of the All-India Adhiwakta Parishad, the lawyers wing of the RSS. Curiously, among the five short listed advocates whose integrity the IB had questioned, he was the only one cleared by the Ministry.
But before his appointment, there was a big hurdle : Goels name, along with four others, went for the approval of K. R. Narayanan, who was President at the time. While Narayanan approved the appointment of M. K. Mittal as an additional Judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, he made observations about three others, including Goel and returned the file to the Law Ministry. However, the Minister, Arun Jaitley, defended the recommendation. In a confidential note dated May 19,2001, Jaitley dismissed the IB finding on Goels integrity as a slur. He said that the High Court and the Supreme Court collegium had both reconsidered him. He quoted the Chief Justice and members of Punjab and Haryana High Court collegium as having reiterated that Goel has an "impeccable reputation of being an upright and honest advocate." On May 21, 2001, PM Vajpayee put his signatures and the file went again to Narayanan.
The President note : "Nonetheless, I feel that a more desirable course of action would have been to follow the same procedure as was done in a similarly placed case of the Calcutta High Court where the advice of the Chief Justice, which is integral to the selection process, was sought again and duly received.....I would also appreciate if my instant observations are shared with the Chief Justice of India along with my earlier observation dated May 3, 2001 on this matter."
3. A somewhat similar news item was published in the newspaper Hari Bhoomi dated 9-5-2003, as under :
"Jab High Court Judge Ki Niyukti Par Rashtrapati Ne Naraajgi Jatai."
Nai Dilli Dilli High Court Judge Shamit Mukherjee Ki giraftari aur D.D.A. Ghotala men unki bhagidari ke baad Kendriya Kanun Mantri Arun Jaitley is koshish mein lag gai hain ke judges ki nlyukti me paardarshita ho aur is ke liye vedheyak layaa Jaai. Is Beech kuch also pramaan saamney aaye hain ki judges ki niyukti ke sandharb
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