MANUBHAI PRAGJI Vs. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) MR. C. J. Sawant, Advocate General has raised preliminary objection about the jurisdiction of this Court in this contempt petition. He submits that in the contempt petition, the grievance of the petitioner is that respondents be punished for gross, wilful and deliberate contempt committed by them by not complying with the Judgement of the Supreme Court delivered on 16-8-95 and according to Mr. Sawant, learned Advocate General, this Court has no jurisdiction to examine whether the order of the Supreme Court delivered on 16-8-95 has been complied with or not. In other words the objection of the learned Advocate-General is that the High Court cannot invoke its jurisdiction under Article 215 of the Constitution of India or under the provision of the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971 for the civil contempt of order of Judgment or the direction of the Supreme Court.

(2.) CONFRONTED with this preliminary objection raised by the Advocate-General, on the other hand Mr. M. P. Vashi who is petitioner in person strenuously argues that the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971 does not expressly bar the invocation of jurisdiction by the High Court if the Judgement, order or direction of the Apex Court has been wilfully or deliberately disobeyed. Referring to the definition of "civil contempt" occurring in section 2 (b) of the Contempt of Court Act, 1971 Mr. Vashi would submit that civil contempt means wilful disobedience of any Judgement, decree, direction, order, writ or other process of a Court or wilful breach of an undertaking given to a Court and according to him that Court may be any Court inferior or superior to the High Court and, therefore, this Court has jurisdiction to examine whether the Judgment passed by the Apex Court on 16-8-95 in Civil Appeal Nos. 7373 and 7374 of 1995, State of Maharashtra v. Manubhai Pragji Vashi, has been complied or not.

(3.) THE question is of considerable importance and has to be answered in the light of the provisions of the Constitution of India, Contempt of Courts Act, 1971, and, rules framed thereunder by this Court as well as by the Supreme Court. Article 129 of the Constitution of India provides that Supreme Court shall be Court of records and shall have all the power of such a Court including the power of punish for contempt of itself.