S SAIDEESHWARA RAO Vs. K PATTABHIRAM

JUDGEMENT

(1.) BY an order of a learned single Judge of this Court, dated 21. 12. 1999, appellants, namely, S. Saideeshwara Rao, Sub-Inspector of Police, Medchal Police Station, and P. Seshagiri Rao, Circle Inspector of Police, Medchal, Ranga Reddy District, Andhra Pradesh, were found guilty of civil contempt and sentenced to pay a fine of Rs. 2,000/- each, for having disobeyed the order of this High Court, dated 25. 09. 1998, granting anticipatory bail to the respondents, by arresting and causing them for remand. This is challenged in the present two different appeals, namely, Contempt Appeal Nos. 24 of 2000 and 25 of 2000, by the respective appellants.

(2.) THE brief facts are as follows: a case was registered in Crime No. 140 of 1998 on the file of Medchal Police Station, Ranga Reddy District, Andhra Pradesh, against the respondents for the offences under Sections 406 and 420 of IPC. The respondents filed an application for bail before the Madras High Court in Criminal O. P. No. 16455 of 1998 and obtained the same on 25. 09. 1998, on condition that anticipatory bail would be in force for a period of eight weeks from that day and on each of them executing a bond for a sum of Rs. 3,000/- with two sureties each for a like sum to the satisfaction of VIII Metropolitan Magistrate, George Town, Chennai, and on further condition that the accused persons should appear before the said Court and furnish sureties within 10 days from the date of that order and, thereafter, they shall move the appropriate Court in Andhra Pradesh and seek further orders, regarding their release on anticipatory bail. Accordingly, they furnished the sureties before the VIII Metropolitan Magistrate Court, Chennai, and got intimation from the Magistrate for acceptance of the sureties. The same was intimated to the police officials of Medchal Police Station in Andhra Pradesh, who are the appellants herein. Despite that, the respondents were arrested by the first appellant, on the instructions given by the second appellant, on 02. 11. 1998 and they were produced before the local Judicial Magistrate, who, in turn, released them on bail, on obtaining sureties, and accordingly, they were released on the same day i. e. , on 02. 11. 1998.

(3.) AGGRIEVED over the arrest by police, namely, the appellants, the respondents herein filed Contempt Application No. 723 of 1998 before the learned single Judge of this Court, who had granted interim anticipatory bail to the respondents.