TMI Blog1995 (3) TMI 467X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... of the U.P. Financial Corporation Act. The company filed a Civil Suit against the Corporation and it has also field an application for grant of temporary injunction. Counsel for the Corporation suo moto put appearance in the matter before Trial Court and prayed for time for filing of reply. The learned trial court passed an order on the said date that the Corporation will not seize the factory of the Company. The company shall pay the amount of instalment and it will furnish also security for the disputed amount. The court directed to furnish security on 31.1.94 and case was fixed on 15.3.94. Against said order of the trial court this appeal has been filed and arguments have been advanced that Court has no jurisdiction to pass the order for payment of instalment of loan and further no security could have been ordered. I put a question to Shri Misra under which provision this order has been passed. On putting of question he started to shout and said that no question could have been put to him. He will get me transferred or see that impeachment motion is brought against me in Parliament. He further said that he has turned up many Judges. He created a good scene in the court. H ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... enior Advocate of the Allahabad High Court and his connections with the various law organisations in different capacities to impress upon the Court that he had a deep involvement in the purity, integrity and solemnity of judicial process, he has submitted in the affidavit that but for his deep commitments to the norms of judicial processes as evidenced by his said status and connections, he would have adopted the usual expedient of submitting his unconditional regrets. But the facts and circumstances of this case were such which induced him to state the facts and seek the verdict of the Court whether he had committed the alleged contempt or whether it could be a judge committing contempt of his own court . He has then stated the facts which according to him form the genesis of the present controversy. They are as follows :- A. A Private Ltd. Co. had taken an instalment loan from U.P. Financial Corporation, which provides under its constituent Act (Sec. 29) for some sort of self help in case of default of instalments. B. A controversy arose between the said Financial Corporation and the borrower as a result of which, the borrower had to file a civil suit seeking an injunc ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... omething to the Applicant Judge and directed the case to be listed before some other Bench. It was duly done and by an order of the other Court dated 18th March, 1994 Hon'ble Justices B.M. Lal and S.K. Verma, the points raised by me before the Applicant Judge were accepted. A copy of the said order is reproduced as Annexure I to this affidavit. L. I find it necessary to mention that the exchange that took place between me and the Applicant Judge got a little heated up. In the moment of heat the Applicant Judge made the following observations :- I am from the Bar and if need be I can take to goondaism. Adding in English - I never opted for Allahabad. I had opted for Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh. I do not know why the Chief Justice of India disregarded my options and transferred me to this place, which I never liked. Provoked by this I asked him whether he was creating a scene to create conditions for getting himself transferred as also talked earlier. After narrating the above incident, contemner has gone on to deny that he had referred to any impeachment, though according to him he did mention that a judge got himself transferred earlier on account of his ina ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... xpected of both the Bench and the Bar of this Court that this Court may order a thorough investigation into the incident in question to find out whether a contempt has been committed by him punishable under Article 215 of the Constitution Or by the Judge under Section 16 of the Contempt of Courts Act. He has further stated that the entire Bar at Allahabad knows that he has unjustly roughed by the Judge and was being punished for taking a fearless and non-servile stand and that he is being prosecuted for asserting the right of audience and using the liberty to express his views when a Judge takes a course which in the opinion of the bar is irregular . He has also contended that any punishment meted out to the outspoken lawyer will completely emasculate the freedom of the profession and make the Bar a subservient tail wagging appendage to the judicial branch, which is an anathema to a healthy democratic judicial system . He has made a complaint that he was feeling handicapped in not being provided with the copy of the letter/report of the Acting Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court and he has also been unable to gauge the rationale of the applicant in not hav ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... cate, he had left to the mercy of this Court to judge and decide the right and wrong. He has also stated that it is for this reason that he had not relied upon the provisions of the Constitution under Articles 129 and 215 and Section 16 of the Contempt of Court Act and to save himself on the technicality and jurisdictional competence. Lastly, he has reiterated that he had always paid due regard to the Courts and he was paying the same and will continue to pay the same and he neither intended not intends to commit contempt of any Court . 2. Along with the aforesaid affidavit was forwarded by the contem-ner, a petition stating therein that he had not gone beyond the legitimate limits of fearless, honest and independent obligations of an advocate and it was Justice Keshote himself who had lost him temper and extended threats to him which was such as would be punishable under Section 16 of the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971[hereinafter referred to as the Act ]. He has prayed that the notice issued to him be discharged and if in any case, this Court does not feel inclined to discharge the notice, he seeks his right to inquiry and production of evidence directly or by affidavits ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... d not think of taking recourse to the obvious and well-known procedure of initiating contempt proceedings against him for the alleged contempt committed in the face of the Court. He has further contended that the adoption of devious way of reaching the Acting Chief Justice by letter and reportedly coming to Delhi for meeting meaningful people is itself seeking about the infirmity of the case of the Judge. He has in the end reiterated his prayer for an inquiry into the behavior of the learned Judge if the notice of contempt was not discharged against him in view of the denial by him of the conduct alleged against him. 3. This Court gave four weeks' time as desired by the contemner to file an additional affidavit giving more facts and details. The Court also made clear that the cause title of the proceedings was misleading since Justice Keshote had not initiated the proceedings. The proceedings were initiated mo moto by this Court. A direction was given to the Registry to correct the cause title. On 30th June, 1994, the contemner filed his supplementary/additional counter affidavit. In this affidavit, he raised objections to the maintainability of initiating contempt pr ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... r General was appointed as the prosecutor to conduct the proceedings. The affidavits filed by the contemner were directed to be sent to Justice Keshote making it clear that he might offer his comments regarding the factual averments in the said affidavits. 4. In view of the said order, the Court dismissed the contemner's application No. 2560/94 praying for discharge of the notice. The contemner thereafter desired to withdraw his application No. 2561/94 seeking initiation of proceedings against the learned judge for contempt of his own Court, by stating that he was doing so at this stage reserving his right to file a similar application at a later stage . The Court without any comment on the statement made by the Contemner, dismissed the said application as withdrawn. 5. Justice Keshote by a letter of 20th August, 1994 forwarded his comments on the counter affidavit and the supplementary/additional counter affidavit filed by the contemner. The learned Judge denied that he took charge of the court proceedings and virtually foreclosed the attempts made by the senior Judge to intervene, as was alleged by the contemner. He stated that being a member of the Bench, he put a que ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... r setting aside of the whole order made in paragraph 6[J] of the counter affidavit, as wrong. He has pointed out that in the Division Bench, it is the senior member who dictates order/judgments. He has also denied the statements attributed to him in other paragraphs of the affidavit and in particular, has stated that he did not make the following observations: I am from the Bar and if need be I can take to goondaism and has alleged that the said allegations are absolutely wrong. He has also denied that he ever made the statements as follows : I never opted for Allahabad. I had opted for Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh. I do not know why the Chief justice of India disregarded my options and transferred me to this place which I never liked . According to him, the said allegations are manufactured with a view to create a defence. He has denied the allegations made against him in the additional/supplementary affidavits as wrong and has stated that what actually happened in the Court was stated in his letter of 10th March, 1994. On 7th October, 1994, the contemner filed his unconditional written apology in the following words: 1. In deep and regretful realization of the fact that ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... said submissions. 7. We may first deal with the preliminary objection raised by the Contemner and the State Bar Council, viz., that the Court cannot take cognisance of the contempt of the High Courts. The contention is based on two grounds. The first is that Article 129 vests this Court with the power to punish only for the contempt of itself and not of the High Courts. Secondly, the High Court is also another court of record vested with identical and independent power of punishing for contempt of itself. The contention ignores that the Supreme Court is not only the highest Court of record, but under various provision of the Constitution, is also charged with the duties and responsibilities of correcting the lower courts and tribunals and of protecting them from those whose misconduct tends to prevent the due performance of their duties. The latter functions and powers of this Court are independent of Article 129 of the Constitution. When, therefore, Article 129 vest this Court with the powers of the court of record including the power to punish for contempt of itself, it vests such powers in this Court in its capacity as the highest court of record and also as a court charge ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... on does not define Court of Record'. This expression is well recognised in juridical world. In Jowitt's Dictionary of English Law, Court of record is defined as : A court whereof the acts and judicial proceedings are enrolled for a perpetual memorial and testimony, and which has power to fine an imprison for contempt of its authority. In Wharton's Law Lexicon, Court of record is defined as : Courts are either of record where their acts and judicial proceedings are enrolled for a perpetual memorial and testimony and they have power to fine and imprison, or not of record being courts of inferior dignity, and in a less proper sense the King's Courts-and these art not entrusted by law with any power to fine or imprison the subject of the realm, unless by the express provision of some Act of Parliament. These proceedings are not enrolled or recorded In words and Phrases (Permanent Edition Vol.10 page 429) Court of Record is defined as under : Court of Record is a court where acts and judicial proceedings are enrolled in parchment for a perpetual memorial and testimony, which rolls are called the 'record' of the court, and are of such high and sup ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ior to contempt Legislation in 1926. Inherent powers of a superior Court of Record have remained unaffected even after codification of Contempt Law. xxxxx 28. ...The Parliament's power to legislate in relation to law of contempt relating to Supreme Court is limited, therefore the Act does not impinge upon this Court's power with regard to the contempt of subordinate courts under Article 129 of the Constitution.g 29. Article 129 declares the Supreme Court a court of record and it further provides that the Supreme Court shall have all the powers of such a court including the power to punish for contempt of itself. The expression used in Article 129 is not restrictive instead it is extensive in nature. If the Framers of the Constitution intended that the Supreme Court shall have power to punish for contempt of itself only, there was no necessity of inserting the expression including the power to punish for contempt of itself . The Article confers power on the Supreme Court to punish for contempt of itself and in addition, it confers some additional power relating to contempt as would appear from the expression including . The expression including has been interpr ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... supervisory jurisdiction over the High Court or other subordinate courts, it does not possess powers which High Courts have under Article 215. This submission is misconceived. Article 227 confers supervisory jurisdiction on the High Court and in exercise of that power High Court may correct judicial orders of subordinate courts, in addition to that, the High Court has administrative control over the subordinate courts. Supreme Court's power to correct judicial orders of the subordinate courts under Article 136 is much wider and more effective than that contained under Article 227. Absence of administrative power of superintendence over the High Court and subordinate court does not affect this Court's wide power of judicial superintendence of all courts in India. Once there is power of judicial superintendence, all the courts whose orders are amenable to corrections by this Court would be subordinate courts and therefore this Court also possesses similar inherent power a the High Court has under Article 215 with regard to the contempt of subordinate courts. The jurisdiction and power of a superior Court of Record to punish contempt of subordinate courts was not founded on t ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ate courts but that does not affect or abridge the inherent power of this Court under Article 129. The Supreme Court and the High Court both exercise concurrent jurisdiction under the constitutional scheme in matters relating to fundamental rights under Articles 32 and 226 of the Constitution, therefore this Court's jurisdiction and power to take action for contempt of subordinate courts would not be inconsistent to any constitutional scheme. There may be occasions when attack on Judges and Magistrates of subordinate courts may have wide repercussions throughout the country, in that situation it may not be possible for a High Court to contain the same, as a result of which the administration of justice in the country may be paralysed, in that situation the Apex Court must intervene to ensure smooth functioning of courts. The Apex Court is duty bound to take effective steps within the constitutional provisions to ensure a free and fair administration of justice throughout the country, for that purpose it must wield the requisite power to take action for contempt of subordinate courts. Ordinarily, the High Court would protect the subordinate court from any onslaught on their inde ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... the matter should be referred to a larger Bench because according to him, the decision does not lay down the correct proposition of law when it gives this Court the jurisdiction under Article 129 of the Constitution to take cognisance of the contempt of the High Court. Neither the contemner nor the learned Counsel appearing on his behalf has pointed out to us any specific infirmity in the said decision. We are not only in complete agreement with the law laid down on the point in the said decision but are also unable to see how the legal position to the contrary will be consistent with this Court's wide ranging jurisdiction and its duties and responsibilities as the highest Court of the land as pointed out above. Hence, we reject the said request. 9. The contemner has further contended that it will be necessary to hold an inquiry into the allegations made by the learned Judge by summoning the learned judge for examination to verify the version of the incident given by him as against that given by the contemner. According to him, in view of the conflicting versions of the incident given by him and the learned Judge, it would be necessary for him to cross-examine the learned Ju ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... . Instant justice can never be complete satisfactory yet it does provide the simplest, most effective and least unsatisfactory method of dealing with disruptive conduct in Court. So long as the contemner's interest are adequately safeguarded by giving him an opportunity of being heard in his defence, even summary procedure in the case of contempt in the face of the Court is commended and not faulted. 10. In the present case, although the contempt is in the face of the court, the procedure adopted is not only not summary but has adequately safeguarded the contemner's interest. The contemner was issued a notice intimating him the specific allegation against him. He was given an opportunity to counter the allegations by filing his counter affidavit and additional counter/supplementary affidavit as per his request, and he has filed the same. He was also given an opportunity to file an affidavit of any other person that he chose or to produce any other material in his defence, which he has not done. However, in the affidavit which he has filed, he has requested for an examination of the learned Judge. We have at length dealt with the nature of in facie curiae contempt and the ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... willful disobedience to any judgment, decree, direction, order, writ or other process of a court or wilful breach of an undertaking given to a court; [c] criminal contempt means the publication [whether by words, spoken or written, or by signs, or by visible representations, or otherwise] of any matter or the doing of any other act whatsoever which - [i] scandalises or tends to scandalise, or lowers or tends to lower the authority of any court; or [ii] prejudices, or interferes or tends to interfere with, the due course of any judicial proceedings; or [iii] interferes or tends to interfere with, or obstructs or tends to obstruct, the administration of justice in any other manner; From the facts which have been narrated above it is clear that the allegations against the contemner, if true, would amount to criminal contempt as defined under Section 2[c] of the Act. It is in the light of this definition of the criminal contempt that we have to examine the facts on record. The essence of the contents of Justice Keshote's letter is that when he put a question to the contemner as to under which provision the order was passed by the lower court, the contemner started ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... st his temper and told him that he would set aside the order in toto disregarding what he had said. The contemner has then proceeded to state that being upset over what he felt was an arbitrary approach to judicial process he got emotionally perturbed and his professional and institutional sensitivity got deeply wounded and he told the applicant-Judge that it was not the practice of that Court to dismiss case without hearing or to upset judgments or portions of judgments which have not been appealed against. According to the contemner, unfortunately the applicant - Judge took it unsparingly and apparently lost his temper and directed the Stenographer to take down the order for setting aside the whole order. The contemner has then stated that he found it necessary to mention that the exchange that took place between him and the applicant-Judge got a little heated up . In the moment of heat the applicant-Judge made the following observations : I am from the bar and if need be I can take to goondaism. I never opted for Allahabad. I had opted for Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh. I do not know why the Chief Justice of India disregarded my options and transferred me to this place ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... proper place. In his earlier counter additional counter, he has stated that it is not he who had committed contempt but it is the learned Judge who had committed contempt of his own court. According to him, the learned Judge had gagged him from discharging his duties as an advocate and the statement of senior member of the bench concerned was necessary. He has taken exception to the learned Judge speaking in the Court except through the senior Judge of the Bench which according to him, had been the practice in the said High Court and has also alleged that the learned judge did not follow the said convention. 13. Normally, no Judge takes action for in facie curiae contempt against the lawyer unless he is impelled to do so. It is not the heat generated in the arguments but the language used, the tone and the manner in which it is expressed and the intention behind using it which determine whether it was calculated to insult, show disrespect, to overbear and overawe the court and to threaten and obstruct the course of justice. After going through the report of the learned Judge and the affidavits and the additional affidavits filed by the contemner and after hearing the learned Co ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... that he would set aside the order in toto disregarding what he had said. The learned Judge's statement that the contemner threatened him with transfer and impeachment proceedings also gets corroboration from the contemner's own statement in the additional affidavit that he did tell the learned Judge that a Judge got himself transferred earlier on account of his inability to command the goodwill of the Bar due to lack of mutual reverence. No one expects a lawyer to be subservient to the Court while presenting his case and not to put forward his arguments merely because the Court is against him. In fact, that is the moment when he is expected to put forth his best effort to persuade the Court. However, if, in spite of it, the lawyer finds that the court is against him, he is not expected to be discourteous to the court or to fling hot words or epithets or use disrespectful, derogatory or threatening language or exhibit temper which has the effect of overbearing the court. Cases are won and lost in the court daily. One or the other side is bound to lose. The remedy of the losing lawyer or the litigant is to prefer an appeal against the decision and not to indulge in a running ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... Judge has further stated that the contemner wanted to convey to him that admission of every matter was as a matter of course and no arguments were heard at the admission stage. He has reiterated the said version in his reply to the affidavits and in particular, has denied the allegations made against him by the contemner. He has defended his asking the question to the contemner since he was a member of the Bench. The learned judge has stated that the contemner I took exception to his asking the said question as if he had committed some wrong and started shouting. He has further stated that he had asked only the question referred to above and the contemner had created the scene on account of his putting the said question to him, and made it difficult to continue the court's proceedings. Ultimately when it became impossible he hear all the slogans and insulting words and threats, he requested the senior learned member of the Bench to list the case before another Bench and to retire to the chamber. Accordingly, an order was made by the senior member of the Bench and both of them retired to the chamber. The learned Judge has denied that he had conveyed to the contemner that he was ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... tration of justice into disrespect and disrepute and undermines and erodes the very foundation of the judiciary by shaking the confidence of the people in the ability of the court to deliver free and fair justice. The stance taken by the contemner is that he was performing his duty as an outspoken and fearless member of the Bar. He seems to be labouring under a grave misunderstanding. Brazenness is not outspokenness and arrogance is not fearlessness. Use of intemperate language is not assertion of right nor is a threat an argument. Humility is not servility and courtesy and politeness are not lack of dignity. Self-restraint and respectful attitude towards the Court, presentation of correct facts and law with a balanced mind and without overstatement, suppression, distortion or embellishment are requisites of good advocacy. A lawyer has to be a gentlemen first. His most valuable asset is the respect and goodwill he enjoys among his colleagues and in the Court. The rule of law is the foundation of the democratic society. The judiciary is the guardian of the rule of law. Hence judiciary is not only the third pillar, but the central pillar of the democratic State. In a democracy ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... t concerned with ordinary legal rights, but with the special and rigid rules of professional conduct expected of and applied to a specially privileged class of persons who, because of their privileged status, are subject to certain disabilities which do not attach to other men and which do not attach even to them in a non-professional character....He (a legal practitioner) is bound to conduct himself in a manner befitting the high and honourable profession to whose privileges he has so long been admitted; and if he departs from the high standards which that profession has set for itself and demands of him in professional matters, he is liable to disciplinary action. In L.M. Das v. Advocate General, Orissa [1957] SCR 167, this Court observed :- A member of the Bar undoubtedly owes a duty to his client and must place before the Court all that can fairly and reasonably be submitted on behalf of his client. He may even submit that a particular order is not correct and may ask for a review of that order. At the same time, a member of the Bar is an officer of the Court and owes a duty to the court in which he is appearing. He must uphold the dignity and decorum of the Court and mus ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... at he has acted exactly contrary to his obligations and has in reality set a bad example to others while at the same time contributing to weakening of the confidence of the people in the courts. The contemner has no doubt tendered an unconditional apology on 7th October, 1994 by withdrawing from record all his applications, petitions, counter affidavits, prayers and submissions made at the Bar and to the court earlier. We have reproduced that apology verbatim earlier. In the apology he has pleaded that he has deeply and regretfully realised that the situation, meaning thereby the incident, should never have arisen and the fact that it arose has subjected him to anguish and remorse and a feeling of moral guilty. That feeling has been compounded with the fact that he was a senior advocate and was holding the elective posts of the President of the High Court Bar Association and the Chairman of the Bar Council of India which by their nature show that he was entrusted by this professional fraternity to set up an example of an ideal advocate. He has guiltily realised his failure to approximate to this standard resulting in the present proceedings and he was, therefore, submitting his ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e people. For all these reasons, we unhesitatingly reject the said so called apology tendered by the contemner. 14. The question now is what punishment should be meted out to the contemner. We have already discussed the contempt jurisdiction of this Court under Article 129 of the Constitution. That jurisdiction is independent of the statutory law of contempt enacted by the Parliament under Entry 77 of List I of VII Schedule of the Constitution. The jurisdiction of this Court under Article 129 is sui generis. The jurisdiction to take cognisance of the contempt as well as to award punishment for it being constitutional, it cannot be controlled by any statute. Neither, therefore, the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971 nor the Advocates Act, 1961 can be pressed into service to restrict the said jurisdiction. We have during the course of the proceedings indicated that if we convict the contemner of the offence, we may also suspend his licence to practise as a lawyer. The learned Counsel for the contemner and the interveners and also the learned Solicitor General appointed amicus curiae to assist the Court were requested to advance their arguments also on the said point. Pursuant to it, it ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... r in remanding the case, or in allowing an new point to be taken for the first time. It is plain that in exercising these and similar other powers, this Court would not be bound by the relevant provisions of procedure if it is satisfied that a departure from the said procedure is necessary to do complete justice between the parties. That takes us to the second argument urged by the Solicitor-General that Article 142 and Article 32 should be reconciled by the adoption of the rule of harmonious construction. In this connection, we ought to bear in mind that though the powers conferred on this Court by Article 142(1) are very wide, and the same can be exercised for doing complete justice in any case, as we have already observed, this Court cannot even under Article 142(1) make an order plainly inconsistent with the express statutory provisions of substantive law, much less, inconsistent with any Constitutional provisions. There can, therefore, be no conflict between Article 142(1) and Article 32. In the case of KM. Nanavati v. The State of Bombay on which the Solicitor-General relies, it was conceded, and rightly, that under Article 142(1) this Court had the power to grant bail in ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... nder Articles 32 and 136 of the Constitution I am of the opinion that this Court retains and must retain, an inherent power and jurisdiction for dealing with any extra-ordinary situation in the larger interests of administration of justice and for preventing manifest injustice being done. This power must necessarily be sparingly used only in exceptional circumstances for furthering the ends of justice. The Court has then gone on to observe there that no enactment made by Central or State legislature can limit or restrict the power of this Court under Article 142 of the Constitution, though the Court under Article 142 of the Constitution, though the Court must take into consideration the statutory provisions regulating the matter in dispute. What would be the need of complete justice in a cause or matter, would depend upon the facts and circumstances of each case. In the latter case, i.e., the Union Carbide's case [supra], the Constitution Bench in paragraph 83 stated as follows: It is necessary to set at rest certain misconceptions in the arguments touching the scope of the powers of this Court (sic) Article 142(1) of the Constitution, These issues are matter of seriou ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ing the needs of complete justice of a cause or matter, the apex Court will take note of the express prohibitions in any substantive statutory provision based on some fundamental principles of public policy and regulate the exercise of its power and discretion accordingly. The proposition does not relate to the powers of the Court under Article 142, but only to what is or is not 'complete justice' of a cause or matter and in the ultimate analysis of the propriety of the exercise of the power. No question of lack of jurisdiction or of nullity can arise. In view of these observations of the latter Constitution Bench on the point, the observations made by the majority in Prem Chand Garg's case [supra] are no longer a good law. This is also pointed out by this Court in the case of Mohammed Anis v. Union of India and Ors. [1994] Suppl.1 SCC 145 by referring to the decision of Delhi Judicial Services v. State of Gujarat (supra) and Union Carbide Corporation v. Union of India (supra) by observing that statutory provisions cannot override the constitutional provisions and Article 142[1] being a constitutional power it cannot be limited or conditioned by any statutory provi ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... there is no reason why this Court while exercising its contempt jurisdiction under Article 129 read with Article 142 cannot impose any of the said punishments. The punishment so imposed will not only be not against the provisions of any statute, but in conformity with the substantive provisions of the Advocates Act and for conduct which is both a professional misconduct as well as the contempt of court. The argument has, therefore, to be rejected. 18. What is further, the jurisdiction and powers of this Court under Article 142 which are supplementary in nature and are provided to do complete justice in any matter, are independent of the jurisdiction and powers of this Court under Article 129 which cannot be trammeled in any way by any statutory provision including the provisions of the Advocates Act or the Contempt of Courts Act. As pointed out earlier, the Advocates Act has nothing to do with the contempt jurisdiction of the court including of this Court and the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971 being a statute cannot denude, restrict or limit the powers of this Court to take action for contempt under Article 129. It is not disputed that suspension of the advocate from practice and ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... visions. The right, therefore, is subject to the restrictions placed by the law of contempt as contained in the statute - in the present case, the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971 as well as to the jurisdiction of this Court and of the High Court to take action under Articles 129 and 215 of the Constitution respectively. We, therefore, do not see any conflict between the provisions of Articles 129 and 215, and Article 19[1](a) and Article 19(1)(g) read with Articles 19[2] and 19[6] respectively. 19. When the Constitution vests this Court with a special and specific power to take action for contempt not only of itself but of the lower courts and tribunals, for discharging its constitutional obligations as the highest custodian of justice in the land, that power is obviously coupled with a duty to protect all the limbs of the administration of justice from those whose actions create interference with or obstruction to the course of justice. Failure to exercise the power on such occasions, when it is invested specifically for the purpose, is a failure to discharge the duty. In this connection, we may refer to the following extract from the decision of this Court in Chief Controlling Re ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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