OM PRAKASH Vs. NOVELTY CINEMA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS is a contempt petition Under Section 12 of the Contempt of Courts Act No. (LXX of 1971) (for short 'the Act') by Shri Om Prakash, who, at the relevant time was working as Vikas Adhikari, Panchayat Samiti, Raisinghuagar.

(2.) THE facts leading to this petition may briefly be notice. Novelty Cinema (non -petitioner No. 1) through its partner Yogendra Nath Handa and non -petitioners No. 2 to 10 filed S.B.Civil Writ Petition No. 2136 of 1980. This petition was admitted by this Court and the following stay order was passed: Issue notices returnable within two weeks. Notices be given Dasti. Meanwhile the respondent No. 2 should proceed with the fixation of rates of fresh admission tickets in order to give effect to Annexures 3 and 3A and notify the case. Till that is done, the earlier arrangement would contiune and the licence of the petitioner could not be cancelled on the ground No. 2 till further orders. The petitioner should give surety to the satisfaction of the Collector Ganganagar that they would pay the tax as per the revised schedule of the Entertainment Tax Act, in case the writ petition is dismissed, even without realising the same from the customers. In that writ petition, imposition of the revised rate of entertainment tax was challenged. An article is said to have been published in the Itwari Patrika,, dated December 28, 1980 relating to the entire history of the writ petition. The article starts under the caption 'Bhala ho Nyaypalika ka' in that article the statement made by Shri Yogendra Nath Handa was quoted. The allegation is that this article was published with an intention to create bias against the Government Departments including Collecter, Panchayat Samiti and its other officials and that as the writ petition was admitted, there was no occasion for non -petitioner No. 1 to have given his remark in the matter which was already sub -justice. Non -petitioner No. 11 is Editor and publisher of Itwari Patrika, Rotary Printers, Kesargarh Jawaharlal Marg, Jaipur and non -petitioner No. 12 is Chiranjeev Joshi, Reporter of Itwari Patrika c/o Rotary Priters (Itwari Patrika) Kesargarh, Jawaharlal Marg, Jaipur. According to the petitioner by publishing this article, non -petitioner No. 11 and 12 have created another court and forum where they have started 'character assination of the Government official more particularly of the petitioner and Collector, Sriganganagar. It has been stated that the article is contemptuous and is intended to have been published with a view to bring in contempt the Government officials and to flatter the presiding officer of the Court. It was prayed that the publication of the said article amounts to contempt and contemners may be punished.

(3.) WE have carefully read the article It may be mentioned that on October 11, 1982, three preliminary objections were raised on behalf of the non -petitioners by Mr. Mridul. They are as under: