In The Matter Of Armand De Souza, Editor Of The Ceylon Morning Leader

Present  : Wood Renton C.J., Pereira J., and De Sampayo A.J. 1914.

In the Matter of ARMAND DE SOUZA, Editor of the
Ceylon Morning Leader.

Contempt of Court-Publication in a newspaper-Magistrate open to suggestions from the police-Mind difficult of access to a conviction hostile to the interests of a European planter-Courts Ordinance, s. 51-Scandalizing the Judges-Is the law obsolete?

The defendant wrote in the Ceylon Morning Leader newspaper-

(a) That the Police Magistrate of Nuwara Eliya, having been himself at one stage in his career in the Ceylon Police Force, is "partial to the police view"; that he is often open to assistance and suggestions from police officers; and that they would not receive " this tremendous advantage" but for the fact that he improperly conducts part of his business in chambers. " Who is there to say what happens in his chambers? ". " We find no predisposition in our minds to discredit the reports we have received."

(b) " That he defers far too much to planters, and that his mind is very difficult of access to a conviction hostile to the interests of a European planter."

Held,-(1) That this language justified the innuendoes respectively, (a) that the Police Magistrate did not exercise his own judgment, but allowed himself to be improperly influenced by the police; (b) that he favoured the European planting community, and could not be relied upon to do justice when a European planter was s party to a legal proceeding.

(2) That where the defendant repudiated these innuendoes, evidence to prove the allegations of fact, on which his comments were founded, and the truth of his own interpretation of his language, was irrelevant as a justification of the innuendoes.

(3) That the defendant's language, as interpreted in the innuendoes, amounted to contempt of Court.

(4) That the law of contempt by scandalizing the; Court is in force in Ceylon.

WOOD RENTON C.J.-"The Court has itself to interpret the meaning of the language used, and in doing so to consider how it will be understood by the majority of those whom it reached."

THE rule served on defendant was as follows :-

In the matter of Armand de Souza, editor of the Ceylon Morning Leader, and in the matter of section 51 of the Courts Ordinance, 1889.

Upon reading the editorial article entitled " Justice at Nuwara Eliya," appearing in the issue of the Ceylon Morning Leader of Monday, December 7. 1914, which said article had reference to the administration of justice in the District and Police Courts of Nuwara Eliya-Hatton by Thomas Arthur Hodson, Esq., at present District Judge and Police

Magistrate of the said Courts: It is ordered that Armand do Soon, editor of the said newspaper, do appear in person before us at our Court at Hulftsdorp on Saturday, December 19, 1914, at 11 o'clock of the forenoon, and show cause why he should not be punished for an offence of contempt committed against and in disrespect of the authority of the said District and Police Courts of Nuwara Eliya-Hatton in the manner following:-

(1) By publishing or allowing to be published in the said editorial article the following words :-

" Proctors complain that throughout the progress of a trial the Judge is too often open to assistance and suggestions from the police officer. No wonder: he has been a Police Superintendent himself. and is partial to the police view. In open Court he might not be given this tremendous to his Inspectors. But who is there to say what in his chambers? Possibly the reports that have reached us are exaggerated. But that, too, is the result of his own line of action. There is no means of checking what occurs in his chambers, and all we can say is that judging from the tearing haste and slipshod manner in which he discharged his functions on the Bench on one occasion, we find no predisposition in our mind to discredit the reports we

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