SWADESHI COTTON MILLS LTD Vs. SWADESHI POLYTEX

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The Swadeshi Cotton Mills Ltd., hereinafter referred to as the " petitioner-company", made an application, A/83, for summoning certain documents including the "report of the Company Law Board on Swadeshi Polytex, Ghaziabad, on the investigation made by them under Sections 239 of the Companies Act and all papers connected therewith ". By an order dated 1st August, 1979, this court had directed that the report of the inspector made under Section 239 of the Companies Act, submitted to the Company Law Board may be summoned from the Board. Thereupon, Mr. V.K. Burman, learned chief standing counsel for the Central Govt., claimed privilege in respect of the above document and filed the affidavit of Shri S. Balaraman, Under-Secretary to the Company Law Board. In this affidavit, A/199, it was stated :

(2.) I have heard Mr. V.K. Burman and Mr. Raja Ram Agarwal, counsel for the petitioner-company. They had addressed the court on the scope of Sections 124 of the Evidence Act as well as on the maintainability of the claim of privilege. It will, therefore, be relevant to refer to Sections 124 of the Evidence Act. It reads as follows :

(3.) The above section makes it clear that a public officer cannot be compelled to disclose communications made to him in official confidence when the public officer is of the opinion that public interest would suffer by the disclosure. If public interest suffers, the public officer cannot be compelled to disclose the communication or the matter in the document concerned. It is also settled that it is for the public officer to satisfy himself that the matter, the production of which is claimed, is one the disclosure whereof would affect the public interest. If this is so, the court shall not compel that public officer to produce that document or paper. A duty is cast on the court also to satisfy itself that the plea raised by the public officer is tenable.