Balodev Pal vs Surender Singh

Biswanath Somadder, J.—Let the affidavits filed in Court today be taken on record.

The contempt application arises out of an order dated 17th December, 2015, passed in WP 26312 (W) of 2015. By the said order, the Director General, Central Industrial Security Force, Headquarters at New Delhi, was directed to consider the petitioner's representation in the light of the observations made in the order dated 17th December, 2015, keeping in view of the law enunciated by the learned Central Administrative Tribunal, Principal Bench, which was later upheld by the Punjab and Haryana High Court as well as the Delhi High Court.

The order that was passed by the Director General, Central Industrial Security Force, Headquarters at New Delhi, dated 13th January, 2016, does not specifically refer to the three judgments and orders which were discussed and referred to in the judgment and order dated 17th December, 2015, wherefrom the contempt application arises. The question which arises for consideration in the facts and circumstances of the instant case, therefore, is whether non-referring to the three judgments and orders - one rendered by the learned Central Administrative Tribunal, Principal Bench and the other two by the Punjab and Haryana High Court and the Delhi High Court - in the order dated 13th January, 2016, passed by the Director General, Central Industrial Security Force, can be construed to be a case of wilful or deliberate or contumacious violation of the order dated 17th December, 2015, passed in WP 26312 (W) of 2015.

In order to answer this issue, this Court perused the order dated 17th December, 2015, passed in WP 26312 (W) of 2015, at length. It appears that although this Court had specifically observed that the judgment rendered by the learned Central Administrative Tribunal, Principal Bench, was squarely applicable in the facts of the writ petitioner's case and that apart and in any event, the said judgment of the learned Tribunal was considered by two High Courts, namely the Punjab and Haryana High Court and the Delhi High Court, there was no specific direction upon the Director General, Central Industrial Security Force, Headquarters at New Delhi, to cite those three judgments in his order. Propriety certainly demanded that the Director General, Central Industrial Security Force, Headquarters at New Delhi, at least, referred to the three judgments in his order and such non-reference can be attributed to either sheer callousness or highhandedness, but it cannot be construed in any manner as wilful or deliberate or contumacious violation of the order dated 17th December, 2015, passed in WP 26312 (W) of 2015.

As such, the contempt application is liable to be dismissed and is accordingly dismissed.

The applicant/writ petitioner is always at liberty to challenge the order dated 13th January, 2016, passed by the Director General, Central Industrial Security Force, Headquarters at New Delhi, before an appropriate forum in accordance with law.

Let a copy of this order be transmitted by the Registrar General of this Court to the Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs, New Delhi, as also the Secretary, Department of Personnel and Training, Government of India, New Delhi, so that the respective Secretaries can issue appropriate administrative instruction - based on the observations made hereinbefore - as to the manner in which Courts'' orders - such as the order dated 17th December, 2015, passed in WP 26312 (W) of 2015 - are required to be complied with, if not for fear of contempt, at least for the sake of propriety. This will only ensure elimination of unnecessary embarrassment caused to the Central Government by certain officials solely due to their inept handling and/or dealing with Courts'' orders.