STATE OF U P Vs. RAMESH CHATURVEDI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) PRESENT contempt proceeding has its genesis in the complaint made by Sri Amarnath Singh, Additional Sessions Judge/Fast Track Court I, Raebareli, whereby a request has been made to initiate contempt proceeding under the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971 against contemnors Ramesh Chaturvedi, Dheeraj Srivastava, Gopal Khanna, P.P.Tiwari, Ramu Tripathi and one Krishna Kumar, the practising Advocates of Civil Courts Raebareli, which was duly forwarded to this Court by the District Judge, Raebareli.

(2.) SHORN of unnecessary details, the facts of the case are that on 14.9.2007 at 10 -30 a.m, while Sri Amarnath Singh, Additional Sessions Judge was on dias and was transacting judicial business, a group of lawyers including the contemnors, who was raising slogans against the judicial officers of the court, entered his court -room and asked the presiding officer as to why he was sitting on dias. The lawyers asked the Presiding Officer to leave the dias, whereupon the Presiding Officer replied that he was sitting in court in compliance with the orders of the Court. The said group of lawyers said to the Presiding Officer, "In this district, it is their orders and not the orders of the High Court which work." They ordered the Presiding Officer to step down from dias. The Presiding Officer objected to the aforesaid conduct of the lawyers, whereupon one of their companions, namely, Krishna Kumar Srivastava, Advocate said, "UTARTE HO KI KURSI TOD KAR UTHA KAR PHEK DU". The Presiding Officer again objected to the aforesaid act of lawyers, whereupon the contemnors started abusing the presiding officer and shouting slogans said, "SAALA BAHUT IMANDAR BANTA HAI, SALE KO DIAS SE UTAR KAR PHEK DO. In spite of the aforesaid happening, the presiding officer did not leave the court. In the meantime, the contemnors and other lawyers started damaging the window -panes. They took out the fire -extinguisher installed in the court and threw it. The board of court rooms and the name -plate of the presiding officer were also taken out and thrown. They also started damaging the furniture of the court -rooms. Thus they caused extensive damage to the public property. The presiding officer asked the lawyers that their conduct was against the judicial norms and contemptuous, for which they could be subjected to contempt proceedings by the High Court, whereupon they reacted with wrath that they had seen number of times such contempts and they did not bother. After some time, some senior lawyers came there and pacifying the said lawyers, took them away with them.

(3.) FINDING that the aforesaid act and conduct of the contemnors amounts to scandalize or tends to scandalize, or lowers or tends to lower the authority of the Court, the District Judge, Raebareli forwarded the complaint of the presiding officer to this Court.