# JANG BAHADUR SINGH v. BAU NATII TIWARI

- **Citation:** [1969] 1 S.C.R. 134
- **Court:** Supreme Court of India
- **Decided:** 1968-04-26
- **Case number:** Criminal Appeal No. 187 of 1965
- **Bench:** S. M. Sikri, R. S. Bachawat
- **Source:** https://unisonlegal.in/judgment/supreme-court-of-india/jang-bahadur-singh-v-bau-natii-tiwari-4349
- **Pages:** 6

## Headnote

Con.Je1npt of Courf--Writ Petition pending
to
quash
suspetisiori
order--Star ,·acated--Service of charge-sheet in respect of disciplinary
procccdln.gs-··l! amounts to conte111pt.
Pending an inquiry into the conduo~ of
th~ rcspondent-PrincioaJ of
a college in respect of certain allegations. the respondent w1ts suspended.
The respondent filed a writ petition in the High
Court to
qua.'11
the
order or suspension. and al.so obt;1incd ex-parte stay ag:tin'it
the
continuation of the inquiry.
The ~.t-parte slay 'W'as vacated.
Thereafter the
appcllant-m.anager of the colJegc. served a charge-')hcet on the resoondcnf
and caUed upon him to explain 1hc allegations.
The rcc;pondent moved
the High Cwn for holding the appellant quilty of contempt of C.ourt.
the High Court held
the
appeilant
guilty
of contempt
of
Cuurt.
Jn appeal. thi' Court.
HELD : The appeal mu't he allowed.
An authority holding an joq11iry in
Aood faith in e:s::crcisc of
the
po"''crs '~tc<l in it by statutory r'c):!:u;a1ions is not guil!y of contempt of
Court. mercly because a parallel inquiry is imminem: or pendio2 before
a Court.
The issue in the di~iplinary Ofoceedings is .,.,.hcther the eo1·
ployee is guilty of the charge' on which it ;, proposed to take acli~n
again:.! him.
The same is~ue may arise for decision in a civil or criminal
proceeding pending in a Court.
But the pendency of the court procredio~ does ncr. bar the taking of dio,ciplinary action. The power of taking
~u.ch action is vested in the disciplinary authority.
The civil or criminnl
court ha'> nu -.uch power. 'Ibe in.itiati'on and continuation of disciplinary
proceedings in good faith is not calculated to obstruct or interfere .. ,,,i.:h
the course ot justice in the pending cow-t orocttdin):!:. The employee jc;
free 1n mov~ the court for an order re.straining th~ continuance of
the
dis.cipliniiry proceedings.
If ht" obtains a stay order, a wilful vio1ati0:1
of the order would of cour.c amount to contempt L\f c,Jurt.
Jn
th~
ahsence of a .;,tay order r:hc dirciplinary authority is frC'C to e'.'(erci.,c ii-;
lawful nowm. [1370-G]
In this case, ~-tftcr the stav order "'ac; vac;llcd bv thr Hi~h Courr. th<.>
appellant bona fide believed thar the disciplinan· procccdinl?s
could
he
cootinued. and the char.i~c-shcct wao,; served in ~ood fai!h and w::s not
intended or calculated 10 interfere wilh the court procet.-dinl!".
Ralhcr
the respondent institult'd the cort.ernPt procccdin!!s
\~·ith uflcrior moti\"t•<-,
to indefinitdv hold up the inquirv after ha,·ine failed 10 obtain thC"
~1:1\'
order. [ D<J E-FJ
Tukc1ran1
Gaokar
"·
S.
N.
Shukla,
rt968]
J
S.C.R.
422.
Rt"C!. v. (;ray. [1900] 2 Q.B. 36. Ar1'111r Rrgino!d Peror.,· v.
Thr
K;nf'!.
[19511 A.C. 482. 488. R, ·. S/tri ,\fchra A.l.R. 1962
M.P. 72: Saihal
Kumar G11pra v. B. K. Sm [19611 3 S.C.R. 460: Delhi C/orh <md GNte·
ral Mills Ltd .. , .. Kau.<hal llhan, [1%01 3 S.C.R. 227: Tata Oil Mills Co ..
[,rd
v. The Workmen. A.1.R. 1965 S.C. 155: Tlir King v.
Pnrmanand.
A.1.R. 1949 Pal. 282: D. !. Shield v. Rameram. Al.R.
1955
Andhro
Prad~sh, 156 referred to.
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JANG BAHADUR v. BAIJ NATH (Bachawat, J.)
135

## Text

134
JANG BAHADUR SINGH
v.
BAU NATII TIWARI
April 26, 1968
(S. M. SIKRI AND R. S.
BACHAWAT, JJ.J
Con.Je1npt of Courf--Writ Petition pending
to
quash
suspetisiori
order--Star ,·acated--Service of charge-sheet in respect of disciplinary
procccdln.gs-··l! amounts to conte111pt.
Pending an inquiry into the conduo~ of
th~ rcspondent-PrincioaJ of
a college in respect of certain allegations. the respondent w1ts suspended.
The respondent filed a writ petition in the High
Court to
qua.'11
the
order or suspension. and al.so obt;1incd ex-parte stay ag:tin'it
the
continuation of the inquiry.
The ~.t-parte slay 'W'as vacated.
Thereafter the
appcllant-m.anager of the colJegc. served a charge-')hcet on the resoondcnf
and caUed upon him to explain 1hc allegations.
The rcc;pondent moved
the High Cwn for holding the appellant quilty of contempt of C.ourt.
the High Court held
the
appeilant
guilty
of contempt
of
Cuurt.
Jn appeal. thi' Court.
HELD : The appeal mu't he allowed.
An authority holding an joq11iry in
Aood faith in e:s::crcisc of
the
po"''crs '~tc<l in it by statutory r'c):!:u;a1ions is not guil!y of contempt of
Court. mercly because a parallel inquiry is imminem: or pendio2 before
a Court.
The issue in the di~iplinary Ofoceedings is .,.,.hcther the eo1·
ployee is guilty of the charge' on which it ;, proposed to take acli~n
again:.! him.
The same is~ue may arise for decision in a civil or criminal
proceeding pending in a Court.
But the pendency of the court procredio~ does ncr. bar the taking of dio,ciplinary action. The power of taking
~u.ch action is vested in the disciplinary authority.
The civil or criminnl
court ha'> nu -.uch power. 'Ibe in.itiati'on and continuation of disciplinary
proceedings in good faith is not calculated to obstruct or interfere .. ,,,i.:h
the course ot justice in the pending cow-t orocttdin):!:. The employee jc;
free 1n mov~ the court for an order re.straining th~ continuance of
the
dis.cipliniiry proceedings.
If ht" obtains a stay order, a wilful vio1ati0:1
of the order would of cour.c amount to contempt L\f c,Jurt.
Jn
th~
ahsence of a .;,tay order r:hc dirciplinary authority is frC'C to e'.'(erci.,c ii-;
lawful nowm. [1370-G]
In this case, ~-tftcr the stav order "'ac; vac;llcd bv thr Hi~h Courr. th<.>
appellant bona fide believed thar the disciplinan· procccdinl?s
could
he
cootinued. and the char.i~c-shcct wao,; served in ~ood fai!h and w::s not
intended or calculated 10 interfere wilh the court procet.-dinl!".
Ralhcr
the respondent institult'd the cort.ernPt procccdin!!s
\~·ith uflcrior moti\"t•<-,
to indefinitdv hold up the inquirv after ha,·ine failed 10 obtain thC"
~1:1\'
order. [ D<J E-FJ
Tukc1ran1
Gaokar
"·
S.
N.
Shukla,
rt968]
J
S.C.R.
422.
Rt"C!. v. (;ray. [1900] 2 Q.B. 36. Ar1'111r Rrgino!d Peror.,· v.
Thr
K;nf'!.
[19511 A.C. 482. 488. R, ·. S/tri ,\fchra A.l.R. 1962
M.P. 72: Saihal
Kumar G11pra v. B. K. Sm [19611 3 S.C.R. 460: Delhi C/orh <md GNte·
ral Mills Ltd .. , .. Kau.<hal llhan, [1%01 3 S.C.R. 227: Tata Oil Mills Co ..
[,rd
v. The Workmen. A.1.R. 1965 S.C. 155: Tlir King v.
Pnrmanand.
A.1.R. 1949 Pal. 282: D. !. Shield v. Rameram. Al.R.
1955
Andhro
Prad~sh, 156 referred to.
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B
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B
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JANG BAHADUR v. BAIJ NATH (Bachawat, J.)
135
CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION: Criminal Appeal No.
187 of 1965.
Appeal by special leave from the judgmen~ and. o~der da~ed
August 3, 1965 of the Allahabad High Court tn Cr!Ullnal Misc.
Contempt Case No. 7 of 1965.
U. P. Singh and D. N. Mishra, for the appellant.
Sobhagmal Jain, S. P. Singh and J. P: Goyal, for the respondent.
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by
•
Bacbawat, J.-The appellant is the manager of Hiralal Memorial Intermediate College, Bhaurauli, in the District of Azamgarh.
The respondent was the principal of the College.
On
December 14, 1963 the respondent drew from the Boys' Fund
of the college two sums of Rs. 189 for payment of scholarship to·
the two Harijan students for the period from May to November
1963. On withdrawal of the monies he sent to the Harijan Tatha
Saniaj Kalyan Adhikari a form called Form No. 14 to the Adhikari containing a receipt of the scholarship signed by the
twe>
students and counter-signed by himself.
The Adhikari wrote to
the appellant informing him of the complaint made by the students that in spite of the submission of Form No. 14 they had
not received the scholarship.
On March 24, 1964 the District
Inspector of Schools visited the College and on finding that the·
scholarships had not been paid called for an explanation for nonpayment.
On April 10, 1964 the appellant forwarded the Inspector's letter of March 24 to the respondent and 'asked him ta
give an explanation.
The respondent sent a reply stating that
payments were made to the students on March 31, 1964 and
that the delay in payment was due to the absence of the students
from the College and the fact that the register on which receipts
had to be obtained were with the Inspector from December 8,
1963 to March 10, 1964. A meeting of the managing committee·
was called on April 14, 1964 to consider the Inspector's letter
and the respondent's explanation.
According to the appellant,
on April 19, 1964 the managing committee met and resolved to·
take disciplinary action against the respondent.
On April
21.
1964 the appellant passed an order suspending the respondent
pending the inquiry.
The order stated that it was passed in exercise of the power vested in the appellant by the rules and the
resolution of the managing committee dated April 19, 1964. A
oopy of the resolution was attached.
On April 24, 1964 th.,.
respondent filed a writ petition in the High Court of Allahabad·
praying for apprapriate writs quashing the order of suspension.
He alleged that the appellant had no authority to pass the order
and that the order was made in bad faith.
On the same date
the respondent obtained an ex parte order from the High Court
1 3 r,
SUPREME <:OURT REPORTS
[ 1969] I S.C.R.
staying the operation of the suspension order.
On July 22, 1964
A
. after hearinj! both the parties the High Court vacated the stay
.order.
On December 25. I %4 the appellant served a charge-
· sheet on the respondent.
Charμc No. (IV) was as follows :-
"The scholarship :1mounts
of
Rs.
216/25
and
Rs. 216/25 of Sri Karam Dco ·Ram and Sri Jai Raj
Ram students of Class Xll for
the
mon1hs of May
B
1963 to J\ovember J 963 were withdrawn by you
on
14-12-1963 but the same have neither been disbursed
to the students concerned nor refunded 10 the Treasury.
Thus you arc i:uilty for misappn>primion of the afore-
. said amount.
Evidence which is proposed to be
considered
111
support of the charge
l. Letter of D.J.0 .. elated 24-3-1964.
2. Letter of ll.W.O., dated :i 1-3-1 %4.
3. Statement of students.
TI1us it is evidently clear th:1t you being entrusied
with the aforesaid money have dishonestly
misappropriated the amount for your own use and the poor students have heen put to loss by your
misconduct.
As
such you have committed criminal breach of trust dishonestly punishable under sec. 406 l.P.C."
The respondent \\·as r.;quired to .submit his cxplan'1tion by Jarm·
.ary 24. 1965.
Instead of submitting his explanation the rcspon-
. dent filed a petition in the High Court asking for committal of
·the appellant for contempt of court. His contention was that the
aforesaid charge was the subject matter of inquiry in the pending
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writ petition. and that as the respondent had launched a par:illcl
JI
inquiry in the matter he had committed contempt of court. The
High Court accepted the contention and held that the respondent
was guilty of contempt of court and directed him to pay a line
of Rs. 500 and costs.
The respondent has filed this appeal after
ohtaininp special leave fro111 this Coun.
The conditions of service of the teachers in the Cnlle~e arc
G
)!Overned by sec. 16 G of the Intermediate Educ<1tion Act.'.1921
(l!.P. Act II of 1921) and the Reμulations framed thereunder.
Repulations 31 to 45 provide for punishment. inquiry and suspension.
111e Committee of
Mana)!emcnt
is
the
punishin~
;iuthority.
The punishments of dismis.sal. removal. di.<charge ~llld
reduction in rank and dimunition in emoluments require
prior
H
approval of the Tnspec:or.
If it is decided to take disciplinary.
action against an employee. the inquiry is made by an authority
appointed hy the commit1cc. The ground on which it is propos·:d
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JANG BAHADUR v. BAIJ NATH (Bachawat, J.)
137
to take action is reduced in the form of definite charges. The
charges are communicated to the employee, who is required to
submit a written statement of his defence. If the employee or
the inquiring authority so desires, an oral inquiry takes place. The
inquiring authority then makes a report. On receipt of the rep?rt
the punishing authority takes its decision on the case. On receipt
of the decision of the committee the Inspector gives his decision.
The Committee then implements the decision of the Inspector.
The Regulations indicate definite time limits for the communication of the charge, submission of the written statement of defence,
completion of the inquiry, the making of the report by the inquiring authority, the taking of decisions by the punishing a~tho
rity and the Inspector and the implementation of the decJSion.
Pending the inquity and final orders, the employee may be suspended by the committee.
The power of suspensi.on may be
exercised by the manager if it is delegated to him under the
rules of the institution.
The employee under suspension is paid
a subsistence allowance of an amount equal to half his pay.
The issue in the disciplinary proceedings is whether the employee is guilty of the charges on which it is proposed to take
action against him.
The same issue may arise for decision in
a civil or criminal proceeding pending in a court. But the pendency of the court proceeding does not bar the taking of disciplinary action.
The power of taking such action is vested in the
disciplinary authority.
The civil or criminal court has no such
power.
The initiation and continuation of disciplinary proceedings in good faith is not calculated to obstruct or interfere with
the course of justice in the pending court proceeding.
The employee is free to move the court for an order restraining the continuance of the disciplinary proceedings. If he obtains a stay
order, a wilful violation of the order would of course amount to
contempt of court.
In the absence of a stay order the disciplinary authority is free to exercise its lawful powers.
An authority holding an inquiry in good faith in exercise of
the powers vested. in it by statutory regulations is not guilty of
contempt of court, merely because a parallel inquhy is imminent
or pending before a court. In Tukaram Gaokar v. S. N.
Shukla(') this Court held that the initiation and continuance of
proceedings for imposition of penalty on the appellant for his
alleged complicity in the smuggling of gold under sec.
112(b)
of the Sea Customs Act, 1962 did not amount to a contempt of
court though his trial in a criminal court for offem;es under sec.
J 35 (b) of that Act and other similar offences was imminent and
identical issues would arise in the proceedings before the cust01ru
authorities and in the trial before the criminal court. This Court
observed :-
(I) [1968]3 S.C.R. 4~2.
UO Sup/68-10
138
SUPREME COURT REPORTS
[1969] I S.CR.
'To constitute contempt of court, there must be involved some ·act done or writing published calculated
to bring a court or a judge of the court into contempt
or to lower his authority' or 'something calculated to
obstruct or interfere with the due course of jtLstice or
the lawful process of the court.'
Reg. v. Gray (1)
Arthur Reginald l'erors v. Tlie Kii;g(').
The customs
ollicers did nothini; of this kind.
They
are
acting
bona fide discharging their statutory duties under ss. 111
and 112.
The power of-adjudicating penalty and confbcation under those sections is vested in them alone.
The criminal court cannot make this adjudication. The
issue of the show cause notice and proceedings thereunder arc authorised by the Act and arc not calculated
to obstruct the course of justice in any Court.
We sec
no justification for holding that the proceedings amount
to contempt of court."
In Re: Shr Mehra(") the High Court of Madhya Pradesh
held that the bona fide holding of a depanmcntal inquiry on a
charge of misappropriation against a government servant did not
amount to contempt of court merely because a criminal prosecution on the same charge was pending against bini.
A fortiori the
inquiry cannot amount to contempt court if it is not a parallel
investigation on a matter pending before a court. see Saiba/ Kumar
Gupta v. B. K. Sen(').
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In Delhi Cloth and General Mills Ltd. v. Kaushal Bhan(')
E
and Tata Oil Mills Co., Ltd .. v. The Workmen(") the Court held
that a domestic inquiry by the employer into the charges against
a workman was not vitiated because it was· held during the pendency of a criminal trial into the same or similar charges.
It
may be desirable to stay the domestic inquiry pending the final
clisJ,?OSal of the criminal case but the inquiry could not be characF
tcriscd as ma/a fide merely because it was held during the pcndency of the criminal proceedings.
Jn The King v. Parmanand(1) a
Full Bench of the Patna
Hij!h Court held that the giving or withholding of consent to the
withdrawal of the prosecution under sec. 494 of the
Code of
Criminal Procedure was a judicial act and it was improper for
G
the court to pem1it withdrawal of the prosecution on orders of
the Government without making any attempt to exercise its discretion. that the power to grant adjournments of pending proceedings under s. 344 of the Code and the power to call for records
in a pending or completed case under secs. 423. 435 of the
--(1).[jQ0012Q.B-:J6.---
('1 1195\)A.C.482.488
H
(3)
A.l.R, 1962 7\-1.P. T2.
<.ii [\l)Gq ."'1S.C.R.4<JO
(5) [19601JS.C.R.121.
(f,>
A.1.R. 1%j S.C. 1 <S.
(7) A.l.R. 1949 P:J 282.
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JANG BAHADUR v. BAIJ NATH (Bachawat, /.)
I3 9
Code and the general rules and circular orders were vested in:
the comt and not in executive officers. Those questions do not
arise for decision in this case.
Narayan, J. in a separate judgment observed that iii an inquiry with regard to a matter which.
is sub judice was bound to interfere with the even and ordinary
course of justice and a parallel inquiry of this kind would
amount to opening the door for contempt. In that case the executive officers were issuing orders to the criminal court calling
for its records and asking it to adjourn the proceedings and ro
consent to the withdrawal of the prosecution and on those facts
it might be possible to hold that the officers were guilty of contempt.
But we cannot agree with the broad observation that a
parallel inquiry on a matter pending before a court necessarily
amounts to a contempt of court. We think that an inquiry by a
domestic tribunal in good faith into the charges against an employee does not amount to contempt of court merely because ar.
inquiry into the same charges is pending before a civil or criminal court.
In D. J. Shield v. Ramesam(1 ) the Andhra Pradesh
High Court agreed with the observations of Narayan, J. but the
decision is distinguishable because the coun found that the inquiry by the Collector into the charges against a sub-magistrate
was not a parallel inquiry and did not amount to contempt of
court.
After the High Court vacated the stay order the appellant
bona fide bdieved that the disciplinary proceedings could be
continued.
The service of the charge-sheet on the respondent
was made in good faith and was not intended or calculated to
interfere with the court proceedings.
We are inclined to think
that the respondent instituted the contempt proceeding
with
ulterior motives. He was under suspension and was drawing half
pay for doing nothing. His intention was to delay the inquiry
into the charges against him. Having failed to obtain the stay
order he launched the contempt proceeding so that the inquiry
might be indefinitely held up. In view of the order under appeal'
he has successfully delayed the inquiry so far.
In the result, we allow the appeal, set aside the judgment and
order of the High Court dated August 3, 1965 and dismiss the
petition filed under the Contempt of Courts Act.
Y.P.
Appeal allowed_
(I) A. I. R. 1955 A. P. 156.