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1998 (11) TMI 126 - SC - Income TaxWhether a private person or the subordinate court, is only an informant and does not have the status of a litigant in the contempt of court case? Held that:- The first respondent, although he received the pseudonymous complaint of November 15, 1997, seems to have written a letter to the so called sender of the complaint only on January 12, 1998, and that too asking only for a confirmation whether the complaint was made by that person. When he wrote the letter of December 30, 1997, he had not even checked the veracity of the complaint. Thereafter, although the first respondent had not received any response to his letter of January 12, 1998, he did not hesitate to address the letter of February 3, 1998, to the President of the Tribunal. In our view this kind of conduct and that too on the part of the Law Secretary, who is expected to maintain the independence of the Income-tax Appellate Tribunal and not interfere with its judicial functioning, amounts to gross contempt of court. It is a deliberate attempt on his part to question the judicial functioning of the Tribunal coming as it does from a person of his rank. It is rightly perceived by the President as well as the two concerned Members of the Tribunal as a threat to their independent functioning in the course of deciding appeals coming up before them. The first respondent has offered his apology, to us. However, looking to all the circumstances of the present case we cannot accept the apology offered. He has travelled far beyond exercising administrative control over the Tribunal.
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