JUDGMENT
H.K. Chaudhuri, J.
1. A rule was issued on the opposite party to show cause why he should not be committed for contempt of Court in regard to certain statements that he made in a letter dated 12-4-60 addressed to Sri G.B. Pant, Home Minister, Government of India. It appears that a suit, being Money Suit No. 420 of 1956, was instituted against the opposite party on the basis of a handnote in the Court of the Munsif of Gopalganj, in the district of Saran. The defence of the opposite party in that case was one of total denial. He alleged that the signature and thumb mark on the handnote had been forged by the plaintiff and that the document itself had been converted into a handnote out of an entry in a certain bahi khata.
The defence appears to have succeeded in the trial Court. The learned Munsif dismissed the suit holding that the handnote was forged. In appeal Mr. S.M. Karim, District Judge of Saran, took a different view and decreed the suit of the plaintiff holding that the handnote was genuine. Thereafter, the opposite party filed a second appeal in the High Court on a nominal court-fee. Before this appeal was admitted, the opposite party addressed the aforesaid letter to the Home Minister making serious allegations in regard to the character and integrity of the District Judge and an Hon’ble Judge of this Court.
He alleged inter alia that the District Judge Bad allowed the appeal on being influenced from above and on being bribed by the party concerned. He also made an allegation against an Hon’ble. Judge of this Court to the effect that in pursuance of a Pact between him and this Particular District Judge the former dismisses all appeals arising out of judgments passed by the latter. He further stated that he could get justice only if his case was entrusted to the Chief Justice of this Court. To-wards the end of the letter he wrote:
“Is there any Judge or head of anti-corruption committee whom I can explain and convince him personally with the facts and figures if they can help me? During the British rule a biggest moneylender was convicted on this ground”.
The letter was forwarded to this Court in due course and the present rule was issued upon the opposite party.
2. The opposite party in his petition showing cause has admitted that he had sent the letter in question to the Home Minister. His plea, however, is that he intended it to be treated as confidential and it was never his intention that any enquiry should be set on foot, in regard to what he had said. He has further pleaded that he wrote the letter in a troubled state of mind and that the objectionable passages were the result of his ignorance and want of command over the English language. Finally, he has offered unqualified apology and has thrown himself upon the mercy and clemency of the Court.
3. Mr. Jaleshwar Prasad appearing for the opposite party has not disputed that the letter in question constitutes gross contempt of Court. He has, however, submitted that the contemner is genuinely penitent and has pointed out that as soon as he was called upon by the Registrar of this Court to appear before him and make his statement about the authorship of the letter in question he frankly admitted that he had written it.
4. On behalf of the State the learned Standing Counsel has drawn our attention to the cases of State of Bihar v. Ranglal Sharma, AIR 1958 Pat 276 and State of Bihar v. S.M. Abdul Samad, AIR 1959 Pat 183. In the earlier case, the contemner alleging himself to be in the capacity of an officer of the Government of India wrote a letter to the District Judge charging a certain Subordinate Judge with black marketing and bribery. Their Lordships held that the statements contained in the letter were calculated to bring the Judge into contempt and to lower his Authority and further amounted to scandalising the Court or Judge.
It was further observed that since there was a definite suggestion and allegation made against the integrity of the Subordinate Judge the contemner could not be permitted to assume that he could do so and then plead immunity from punishment by expressing an apology for his offence. Their Lordships thought that not only some Punishment but a deterrent punishment was called for in the case since allegations against judicial officers had become too frequent and it was necessary that the tendency to make false, scandalous and loose statements and allegations against the subordinate judiciary should be put a stop to. Jamuar, J., who made the aforesaid observations also refused to accept the apology of the contemner in the later case reported in AIR 1959 Pat 183.
He observed that to accept the apology in such cases would encourage persons to cast aspersions and make false allegations against judicial officers. In the present case, the opposite Party not only made a definite allegation against the District Judge that he had been influenced and bribed but went to the length of casting aspersions upon ah Hon’ble Judge of this Court. He even suggested that he was not likely to get justice except in the Court of the Chief Justice.
It is manifest that the opposite Party has brought the District Judge as well as the Judges of this Court into contempt and lowered their authority. The allegations made amount to scandalising the Court and the Judges and, as such, constitute a gross contempt of Court. The plea that it was a confidential communication, or that the opposite party did not intend any action to be taken on the letter, or that he wrote it in a troubled state of mind is frivolous and irrelevant.
5. Having regard to the wild and reckless nature of the aspersions made I take a serious view of the case and decline to accept the apology tendered. To do so would, as has been observed in the case of AIR 1959 Pat 183, encourage persons to cast aspersions and make false allegations against judicial officers and Judges of this Court. It is necessary, therefore, to take a strict view of the matter. I accordingly find the opposite party guilty of contempt of Court and sentence him to simple imprisonment for one month.
Ramratna Singh, J.
6. I agree.