STATE OF GUJARAT Vs. NARANBHAI SADABHAI PARMAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This Reference has been made to this Court under sec. 15 of the Contempt of Courts Act by the learned Joint Civil Judge Junior Division Kalol in Mahesana District in respect of certain state ments alleged to constitute contempt of Court of the learned Judges Court. The facts giving rise to this Reference are as follows: The original complainant in the contempt proceedings is one Nandlal Khodidas Barot an advocate practicing at Kalol. At the material time Nandlal Khodidas Barot who was the Vice President of Kalol Municipality had filed three regular civil suits namely Suits Nos. 12 of 1980 and 116 of 1980 and 136 of 1980. All the three suits were filed by Nandlal Khodidas Barot as party in person and in each of them the principal defendant was Kalol Municipality and there were several other defendants as co-defendants in these suits. In his capacity as municipal councillor of Kalol Munici- pality Barot wanted to safeguard what he considered the interest of municipal property as a trustee In Regular Civil Suit No. 12 of 1980 he had obtained an ad interim ex-parte injunction restraining the munici- palily from demolishing its municipal building in which it was functioning till then. This ad interim ex parte injunction was confirmed after both parties were heard but no appeal was preferred against the decision of the learned trial Judge and the injunction continued till the hearing of the suit. In Regular Civil Suit No. 116 of 1980 the plaintiff that is Nandlal Khodidas Barot applied for an ad interim ex parte injunction restraining the municipality from making payment of Rs. 50 0 by a cheque dated 23/05/1980 issued by the defendant municipality to the contractor Messrs Sunil Corporation Unjha. through Bank of India Kalol Branch. This ex-parte ad interim injunction was obtained on 24/05/1980 Barot also filed Regular Civil Suit No. 136 of 1980 on 20/06/1980 and obtained an ad interim ex parte injunction restraining Kalol Municipality from paying the amount of Rs. 12 399 paise by cheque issued by the defendant municipality in favour of the defendant contractor Shrimati Savitaben Apabbai Amin of Kalol through Central Bank of India Kalol Branch Kalol. After the ex-parte injunctions had been obtained in Regular Civil Suits Nos. 116 of 1980 and 136 of 1980 Kalol Munici- pality passed the necessary resolutions of the General Board of the Municipality to the effect that in neither of the suits the Municipality would make payment of the cheques concerned to the contractor in question and thereupon the plaintiff of those two suits Nandlal Khodidas Barot withdrew both the suits and subsequently that is on 3/01/1981 Regular Civil Suit No. 136 of 1980 was withdrawn by the plaintiff of that suit and Regular Civil Suit No. 116 of 1980 was withdrawn on 31/03/1981

(2.) While these suits were pending in the Court of the learned Joint Civil Judge Junior Division Kalol the respondents are alleged to have published a pamphlet and distributed the same among the general public in Kalol Town. This publication and distribution took place on or about 22/06/1980 The plaintiff of those three suits Barot then submitted an application on 2/07/1980 for necessary action which he submitted should be taken under the Contempt of Courts Act. Thereupon the learned Joint Civil Judge Junior Division held an inquiry and in the Course of that inquiry he recorded depositions of J. B. Thakkar Chief Officer of Kalol Municipality and M. I. Malek a typist working with Kalol Muninici- pality and also the deposition of Mr. N. K. Barot advocate. The learned trial Judge also collected the relevant documents as per the list Exhibit 14 collectively and for this purpose different clerks of the Court working at Kalol were examined since they were in possession of the relevant records.

(3.) It came out in the course of the preliminary inquiry that the draft of the pamphlet Annexure `A to the Reference was prepared by respondent No. I who was a municipal councillor at the relevant time and some portion of this writing was typed by J. B. Thakkar Chief Officer of the Municipality and the rest of the pamphlet was typed by M. I. Malek typist of Kalol Municipality Thereafter respondent no. 2 who has signed at the foot of each page of the typed document and also at the foot of the typed document got the pamphlet printed in the printing press of the third respondent the other alleged contemner and thereafter the printed pamphlets were distributed in Kalol Town. It is this section of the three respondents in Writing the pamphlet so far as contemner No. 1 was concerned in signing and getting it typed so far as contemner No. 2 was concerned and in printing and publishing the pamphlet so far as respon- dent No. 3 is concerned which is complained of in these contempt of Court proceedings. The learned Judge has pointed out that the pamphlet contains various allegations against advocate Mr. N. K. Barot but it has been pointed out by the learned Judge in paragraph 6 of his order that in paragraph 15 the words used with reference to Nandlal Khodidas Barot were that it was alleged that advocate Mr. N. K. Barot was in the habit of browbeating and threatening the Court. Mr. Barot was getting headstrong and anti-social elements released from jail or police custody and on the top of it. Mr. Barot was filing complaints against the police. In paragraph 17 it has been further stated that in the Courts at Kalol in all cases in which Mr. N. K. Barot was appearing as an advocate the decision used to be in favour of the clients of Mr. N. K. Barot and it was further alleged in paragraph 17 that the Magistrates of the Courts at Kalol were afraid or frightened of Mr. N. K. Barot.