BRAHMA PRAKASH SHANNA Vs. STATE OT UTTAR PRADESH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This appeal which has come before us, on special leave, is directed against a judgment of a Full Bench of the Allahabad High Court, dated May 5, 1950, by which the learned Judges held the appellants guilty of contempt of court; and although the apology tendered by the appellants was accepted, they were directed to pay the costs of the Respondent State.

(2.) The appellants, six in number, are members of the Executive Committee of the District Bar Association at Muzaffarnagar within the State of Uttar Pradesh, and the contempt proceedings were started against them, because of certain resolutions passed by the Committee on the 20th April, 1949, copies of which were forwarded to the District Magistrate and other officers by a covering letter signed by Appellant No. 1 as President of the Bar Association.

(3.) To appreciate the contention that have been raised in this appeal, it would be necessary to state a few relevant facts. The resolution which forms the basis of the contempt proceedings relate to the conduct of two judicial officers, both of whom functioned at Muzaffarnagar at the relevant time. One of them named Kanhaya Lal Mehra was a Judicial Magistrate while the other, named Lalta Prasad was Revenue Officer. It is said that the 1st appellant as President of the Bar Association received numerous complaints regarding the way in which these officers disposed of cases in their Courts and behaved towards the lawyers and the litigant public. The Executive Committee of the Association took the matter in hand and, after satisfying themselves that the complaints were legitimate and well-founded, they held a meeting on 20th April 1949 in which the following resolutions were passed.