I. MANILAL SINGH v. 'r· DR. H. BOROBABU SINGH AND ANR.

The following Order of the Court was delivered:

This matter came up for our consideration on December 8, 1992 pursuant to the order dated November 24, 1992, to decide the appropriate H

TI4 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1993] 1 S.C.R.

A order which needs to be made in the existing situation. A brief resume of the events leading to the present stage may first be given. '>

This Court has held that the Speaker while deciding the question of disqualification of a Member of the Legislative. Assembly under the Tenth Schedule to the Constitution acts as a statutory authority, in which capacity B the Speaker's decision is subject to judicial review by the High Court and this Court. Pursuant thereto, certain orders were made by this Court in proceedings arising out of the order of disqualification of certain members, made by the contemner, Dr. H. Borobabu Singh who holds the office of Speaker of the Manipur Legislative Assembly, in spite of the clear decision c of this Court that an order made under the Tenth Schedule by the Speaker relating to the disqualification of a Member of the Legislative Assembly is subject to judicial review and the Speaker while making an order under the Tenth Schedule acts merely as a statutory authority amenable to the court's jurisdiction in that capacity, the contemner continued to resist the impel- D mentation of such orders made by this Court. The petitioner, I. Manila! Singh was then the Secreatry of the Manipur Legislative Assembly. In b.s capacity as Secretary of the Assembly, the petitioner, I. Manila! Singh took steps to implement thi:. Court's orders. The allegation made by I. Manila! Singh is that the contemner, Dr. H. Borobabu Singh got annoyed with him for his attempt to secure obedience and implementation of this Court's E orders and, therefore, as an act of reprisal, the contemner has made an order of his compulsory retirement. The petitioner, I. Manila! Singh, therefore, challenged the order of his compulsory retirement made by the contemner inter alia on the ground that it was ma/a fide being an act of reprisal by the contemner for the petitioner's obedience of this Court's orders. This Court stayed the operation of the impugned order of compul- F sory retirement of the petitioner, I. Manila! Singh as well as the order of his sus.pension passed by the contemner. The petitioner then complained that in spite of this Court's orders, the contemner was not permitting him to function a< the secreta.ry of the Manipur Legislative Assembly and was also not paying him his ;alary and other dues; and that another person had been appomted by the contemner to function as the Secretary.

On July 22, 1992, this Court made an order reiterating that the petitioner, I. Manila] Singh shall be allowed Lo function as the Secretary of the Manipur Legislative Assembly without delay and that all concerned will enable him to so function, and some further directions were also given.

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On August 4, 1992 another order was made by this Court as a result of the grievance made by the petitioner, I. Manila! Singh that in spite of the orders of this Court, he was neither allowed to function as the Secretary of the Legislative Assembly nor had he been paid his salary etc. In that order, this Court further directed the Chief Secretary of the State of Manipur to ensure that the direction given for payment of dues to the petitioner was promptly obeyed.

When the matter was again taken up on August 25, 1992, the petitioner, I. Manila) Singh stated that another order had been made on August 19, 1992 declaring that the petitioner is to retire from service on August 31, 1992 as Joint Secretary which was in disobedience of this C Court's orders, and was a further act of reprisal against him by the contemner. Accordingly, in the order dated August 25, 1992, this Court after recording that this action appears to be prima facie in violation of this Court's order, stayed the operation of the order dated August 19, 1992. The order after mentioning the statement made by the learned counsel for D the Chief Secretary, H.V. Goswami expressed this Court's concern at the apathy exhibited towards obedience of the mandate under Article 144 of the Constitution and after hearing all the counsel including Shri S.K. Bhattacharya, learned counsel for the contemner, directed that the Chief Secretary, H.V. Goswami, Deputy Secretary, Manipur Legislative Assemb- ly, R.K. Chinglensana Singh and Dr. H. Borobabu Singh should be per- E sonally present in court at the next hearing which was fixed for September 8, 1992. On September 8, 1992 the matter was adjourned to September 9, 1992.

On September 9, 1992, the Chief Secretary, Manipur, H.V. Goswami F and R.K. Chinglensana Singh, Deputy Secretary, Manipur Legislative As- sembly were personally present. On behalf of Dr. H. Borobabu Singh who did not appear, a request was made by his counsel, Shri Bhattacharya to adjourn the matter till after September 22, 1992 on the ground that the Manipur Legislative Assembly was in session. The matter was, therefore, adjourned to September 25, 1992. G

On Septembe1 25, 1992, in spite of earlier order in the contempt proceediilg directing Dr. H. Borobabu Singh to appear in person, ne did not appear. His counsel, Shri Bhattacharya filed an affidavit stating inter alia that Dr. H. Borobabu Singh is immune from such directions of the H

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A court in view of his constitutional position as Speaker. Accordingly, Shri Bhattacharya was heard on his objection which was found to be without substance. On September 25, 1992, the Court while rejecting the contention of Shri Bh•ttacharya stated as under :-

B ' ......This is a case in which Dr. Singh's function is not as a Speaker in the House. The facts of the case which are on record in this matter clearly show that Dr. Singh was acting as Authority under the Tenth Schedule to the Constitution and in that capacity certain orders were passed which gave rise to the present contempt petition. In a petition filed by c the petitioner, Manila! Singh, directions issued by this Court relating to his service conditions which have, accord- ing to the· allegations, not been respected by Dr. Singh. In this context and background, we do not have any doubt that the capacity in which Dr. Singh was functioning was not D that of the Speaker of the House, but as administrative head of the Secretariat of the Legislature in relation to the rights of one of the employees. Accordingly, we hold that there is no merit at all in the plea raised regarding the jurisdiction of this Court and the objection is, therefore, rejected.

2Copy pinpoint2. We asked Mr. G. Ramaswamy, learned Attorney General ,o examine the matter ·and indicate his opinion as to the enforceability of the directions of this Court requir- ing the personal appearance of Dr. H. Borobabu Singh in F Court. On earlier occasion also, learned Attorney General had indicated that this Court would have been justified in taking a far stricter view of the conduct of Dr. Singh and it is an appropriate case where it is not only within the power of this Court, but also its bounden duty to take such steps which .will reassure the people of their faith in, and G respect for the Institution, now that it is obvions that the indulgence granted so far to Dr. H. Borobabu Singh has been misplaced. Mr. Altaf Ahmed, learned Additional Solicitor General appearing for the Union of India fully supports the opinion and submission of learned Attorney H General.

MANILAL v. DR. H. BOROBABU m -!

3Copy pinpoint3. Mr. Kapil Sibal who represents the Chief Secretary of A ~ Manipur also expressed his opinion on these lines."

The remaining part of the order then considered the fact that Dr. H. Borobabu Singh was included as a Member of the Indian Parliamentary delegation to attend a conference abroad and the Court adjourned the B matter to October 20, 1992 requiring the contemner, Dr. H. Borohahu Singh to give a written Undertaking, before he left the country that he --1 _would appear in the Court, and the Government of India was required to ensure compliance of that direction. It is sufficient to mention that the contemner, Dr. H. Borobabu Singh did not give such an undertaking in c - spite of the persuasion of senior officers of the Government of India as well as the Union Home Minister, as appears from the documents filed on behalf of the Government of India. Accordingly, the Government of India did not permit the contemner to leave the country.

~ When the matter was taken up on October 20, 1992, the contemner, D Dr. H. Borobabu Singh did not appear in spite of the earlier direction given and the indulgence granted to him. However, his counsel, Shri Bhat- tacharya prayed for a short adjournment on the ground that he would be advising Dr. H. Borohahu Singh to file an unconditional affidavit to appear in person in court in pursuance to the direction of the court and to make _l. a separate application for condoning his absence and exempting him from E personal appearance in the court. In spite of the background, we granted further indulgence to the contemner and accepting the request of Shri Bhattacharya adjourned the case to October 23, 1992 stating that if in addition to the unconditional affidavit to appear personally in the court pursuant. to the direction, a separate application, as indicated by Shri F Bhattacharya, for condoning his absence and exempting him from personal _,,...__ appearence was filed by the contemner, the same would he considered on its merits. At the request of Shri Bhattacharya, learned counsel for Dr. H. Borobabu ·Singh, we again adjourned the matter to November 12, 1992 recording his statement in the order as under :- G "Mr. S.K Bhattacharya, the learned counsel for Dr. H. Borobabu Singh states that he has been instructed per- sonally by Dr. H.B. Singh to make a statement in this Court that Dr. H.B. Singh will be filing his affidavit in the terms of our order of the last date. We asked Mr. Bhattacharya H

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A to clarify whether our order has been correctly understood that the affidavit has to be filed giving an unconditional undertaking to appear in this Court in pursuance of a direction by this Court and the application which Dr. H. B. Singh Wants to make with a prayer for dispensing with his personal presence will be filed separately and be r it a B condition of the affidavit. He states that the position has been correctly understood by Dr. H. B. Singh who has instructed Mr. Bhattacharya w state accordingly. Mr. Bhat- tacharya further states that the affidavit could not be filed today as Dr. H.B. Singh could not come to Delhi because c of the prevailing deterioration of law and order situation due to insurgency in the eastern part of the country due to which he was advised by the authorities responsible for his security not to undertake a journey to Delhi at this stage. - He has also referred to the partial disruption in the air services between Manipur and Delhi. Mr. Bhattacharya D adds that the affidavit shall be filed by the 5th or the 6th November, 1992.'

When the matter was taken on November 12, 1992, the contemner, Dr. H. Borobabu Singh was again not present and the only thing done by him in the meantime was to file an affidavit dated November 6, 1992 ....__ indicating that he would not personally appear before the Court. Thus, in spite of the clear statement made by Shri Bhattacharya on instructions of Dr. H. Borobabu Singh as stated by him and recorded in the order dated October 23. 1992, the contemner once again remained absent and neither filed the requisite affidavit containing his undertaking to appear nor made any application praying for condoning his absence and exempting him from personal presence for cogent reasons. ......__

In these circumstances, it became necessary to consider the making of necessary consequential orders. The matter was, therefore, adjourned to November, 24, 1992 to hear the learned Attorney General of India and all the other counsel appearing in the case for deciding the future course of action. On November 24, 1992, the learned Solicitor General informed the Court that Mr. G. Ramaswamy had resigned from the office of Attor- ney General and, therefore, the matter may be adjourned to enable his successor-in-office to assist the court with his arguments. The matter was,

MANILAL~DR.H.BOROBABU .779

therefore, adjourned to December 8, 1992. A On December 8, 1992 we have heard the learned Attorney General of India, the Solicitor General, on behalf of Union of India, Shri Kapil Sibal, learned counsel for the Chief Secretary of the State of Manipur, Shri S.K. Bhattacharya, learned counsel for the contemner, Dr. H. Borobabu B Singh and learned counsel for the petitioner.

It may be mentioned that the contemner, Dr. H. Borobabu Singh has filed affidavits, the last being of December 7, 1992, making it amply clear repeatedly that he would not obey the orders of this Court directing his personal presence in the contempt matter nor would he make any applica- C lion for condoning his absence and exempting him from personal presence for any cogent reasons. The only reason indicated in the affidavit filed by Dr. H. Borobabu Singh and also reiterated by his counse~ Shri S.K. Bhattacharya is that by virtue of the office of Speaker of the Manipur Legislative Assembly held by Dr. H. Borobabu Singh, he is immune from the process of this Court even in a cor:tempt proceeding where the direc- tion for his personal presence has been given as a result of prima facie opinion formed by the court that he has wilfully disobeyed the orders of this Court in a capacity which does not relate to his functions as Speaker inside the House and has further deterred certain persons including the Chief Secretary of the State and officers of the Ass.embly Secretariat from acting in aid of this Court's directions/orders in addition to taking ad- ministrative action against the petitioner. I. Manila! Singh, Secretary of the Manipur Legislative Assembly as an act of reprisal for his· acting in aid of this Court's orde.rs. This stand has been taken and continues to be persisted in, in spite of the contention being considered and rejected expressly on merits including in the order dated September 25, 1992. The question, therefore, is of the action to be taken and the kind of order which it would be appropriate to make in these circumstances for implementation of this Court's orders, to uphold the majesty of law for preservation of the 'rule of law'. G

,.. The learned Attorney General submitted that the undisputed facts and the unequivocal stand taken by the contemner, Dr. H. Borobabu Singh leave no doubt about his wilful and contumacious disregard and dis- obedience of this .Court's orders which is without any doubt .liy itself sufficient to constitute criminal contempt of this Court. The learned Allor- H

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A ney General submitted that apart from the power which this Court has under the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971 and the Rules framed thereunder, the power of this Court under several provisions of the Constitution of India is wide enough to indicate that the procedure available to it fur ensuring compliance of its orders directing the personal presence of the contemner, Dr. H. Borobabu Singh are not confined merely to the provisions in the Contempt of Courts Act and the Rules framed there- under. The learned Attorney General added that all steps considered necessary to ensure co@pliance of this Court's order requiring the personal presence in this Court of the c<intemner, Dr. H. Borobabu Singh, are available to this Court which has a constitutional obligation to uphold the role of law. He submitted that the stage has now reached when this step can no longer be avoided due to the continuing contemptuous conduct of the contemner in persistently refusing to obey this Court's orders requiring - his personal pr .'.seuce in this contempt matter. The learned Attorney General added that lhis Court also has the power to direct the Government D of India to take the necessary steps to produce the contemner, Dr. H. Borobabu Singh in this Court if the ordinary course of requiring a magistrate to produce him in the court is considered inappropriate in the present case. The learned Solicitor General of India on behalf of the Government of India supported the submissions of the learned Attorney General of India and assured us that in case the Court considered it E necessary to direct the Government of India to take the necessary steps to produce the contemner. Dr. H. Borobabu Singh the direction wollld be duly and promptly complied with Shri Kapil Sibal on behalf of the Chief Secretary of the State of Manipur also supported the submission and so did the counsel for the petitioner, I. Manila! Singh, Shri S.K. Bhattacharya, F learned counsel for the contemner, Dr. H. Borobabu Singh reiterated the stand taken by the contemner that by virtue of the office of the Speakar which he holds, he is immune from the court's process even in a contempt matter like this which does not relate to his function as Speaker inside the House.

G The undisputed facts expose the conduct of the contemner, Dr. H. Borobabu Singh, evident from the statement contained in his affidavits filed in this Court refusing to obey the orders of this Court directing him to appear in person in this Court to enable the hearing of the contempt proceedings against him, after the tentative opinion formed by this Court H that his wilful and contemptuous violation of this Court's orders and

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deliberate obstruction of the persons acting in the aid of this Court's orders coupled with his act of reprisal against the Secretary of the Legislative Assembly for obeying the orders made by this Court make out a prima facie ~e of 'criminal contempt', was recorded in the orders made in the presence of his counsel and known to him. The contemner had refuse<! to accept the .notices sent to him directly but continued to be represented by counsel, Shri S.K. Bhattacharya through whom he communicated with the Cmtrt, in addition to filing some of his own affidavits to clearly indicate his refusal to appear in Court The only reason given by him, through counsel and in his affidavits is, that he being Speaker of a Legislative Assembly, is immune from process of court even in such a proceedin~ c - The present situation arises as a result of repeated and emphatic refusal of the contemner to appear in person in this Court after due notice of the fact that his presence is required before the court on the date fixed for the hearing of the contempt proceeding to answer this charge of criminal contempt committed by him by acts done which were not per- D formed as a Speaker within the House.

Reference may now be made to some provisions of law applicable to the situation as indicated by the learned Attorney General and the other counsel supporting his submissions. E 'The Rules to Regulate Procee~ for Contempt of the Supreme Court, 1975' framed by this Court provide in Rule 3 that the Court may take action even suo motu in such a matter. Rule 6 requires the contemner, unless otherwise ordered, to appear in person before the Court as directed on the date fixed for hearing of the proceeding and to continue to remain present during hearing till the proceeding is finally disposed of by order of the Court. Rule 10 provides that the Court may direct the Attorney General or the Solicitor General to appear and assist the Court It is in this manner that the Attorney General was directed to appear and assist the Court which the Solicitor General appeared in this matter for the Union of India. Rule 11 provides that the Court may, if it has reason to believe, that the person charged is absconding or is other.vise evading service of notice, or if he fails to appear in person or to continue to remain present in person in pursuance of the directions, direct a warrant bailable or non-bailable for his arrest, addressed to one or more police officers and the warrant shall be executed by the officer or officers to whom it is H

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A directed. These Rules, therefore, provides for procuring the personal appearance of the contemner in this Court if the Court has reason to believe that the contemner is evading service or he fails to appear in person y in spite of the directions of this Court. In the present case, the contemner's repeated and categorical refusal to appear in this Court in spite of this B Court's orders and grru;i~ of considerable indulgence to him till now is clear from the statements made in his affidavits and through his counsel, who has appeared for him throughout.

The learned Attorney General, the learned Solicitor General and Shri Kapil Sibal are right in their submission that the power of this Court C in such matters is not confined merely to the provisions of the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971 and the Rules framed thereunder but is plenary to punish any person for contempt of court, and for that purpose to require hi~ presence in persol) in this Court in the manner considered appropriate - in the facts of the case. They refer particularly to Articles 129 and 142 apart D from Article 145 of the Constitution of India.

Article 129 says that the Supreme Court shall be a court of record and shall have all the powers of such a court including the power to punish for contempt of itself.

E Article 142 provides for enforcement of decrees and orders of Supreme Court and lays down that the Supreme Court shall have all and every power to make any order for the purpose of securing the attendance of any person, the discovery or production of any documents, or the investigation or punishment of any contempt of itself, Article 141 declares F the binding effect of the law declared by the Supreme Court which is a clear provision to indicate that the meaning of 'law' is to be understood as declared by the Supreme Court. Obviously, it is not for any one else including the Speaker to decide what the 'law' is, and make an interpreta- tion of the 'law' contrary to the declaration of law made by the Supreme G Court. Article 144 contains the constitutional obligation of all authorities in the territory of India to· act in aid of the Supreme Court. These provisions are well-known and they are mentioned in this order once again in the· present case merely for the benefit of the contemner who has ·vilfully and deliberately refused to obey and ignored not merely the orders of this Court but has also chosen to ignore the provisions in the Constitution itself, H to which he must have sworn allegiance before taking his seat as a Member

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of the Manipur Legislative Assembly. A

"-,.-' The contention of the contemner's immunity from the process of this Court even in a contempt proceeding, wherein a prima facie case of criminal contempt is made out against him, requiring his personal presence to answer that charge and to be present at the hearing, hinted by the contemner in his affidavits and raised by his counsel is totally misconceived, · B and this was indicated to his counsel repeatedly. The immunity given by Article 381 of the Constitution is not to a Speaker and no other provision supports this submission.

From the documents filed by the Union of India, it is evident that c - even the Union Home Minister has strongly advised the contemner to desist from the course he has chosen to adopt and to obey the orders of this Court, which is his constitutional obligation. The present Attorney ~ General as well as his predecessor-in-office and the Solicitor General have also categorically and repeatedly expressed their opinion that it is the duty D "'?'- of the contemner to obey the orders of this Court and appear in this Court in person as directed. Shri Kapil Sibal who appears for the Chief Secretary of the State of Manipur has also expressed the same view in his submis- sions.

After hearing learned counsel al length on December 8, 1992 we had reserved the order for further reflection. On further and in-depth con- sideration of this matter on account of the fact that the coniemner also happens lo occupy the office of Speaker of a Legislative Assembly, we find that there is no escape from the obvious and logical conclusion emerging from the submissions made by the learned Attorney General of India and endorsed by the learned Solicitor General of India and Shri Kapil Sibal. While we reach this unfortunate decision in discharge of our constitutional __,,,,..-,_, obligation, we draw some solace from the fact that this situation is the creation of the contemner, Dr. H. Borobabu Singh himself who continues to persist in his contumacy by repeatedly declaring that he would not obey the orders of this Court directing his personal appearance to participate in the contempt proceedings against him. It is unfortunate that a person who holds the constitutional office of Speaker of a Legislative Assembly _..__ has chosen to ignore the constitutional mandate that this country is governed by the 'rule of law' and what the law is, is for this Court io declare in discharge of its constitutional obligation which binds all in accordance H

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A with Article 141 of the Constitution of India and Article 144 then says that all authorities are to act in aid of the orders made by this Court. The contemner has chosen to ignore also the obvious corollary of rule of law that no person is above law. Having done our best to make the contemner see reason and be present by granting him indulgence repeatedly to the extent that the learned Attorney General of India at one of the earlier stages said that our indulgence and leniency was being construed as the weakness of the court, we are constxained to now take the only appropriate and logical course to which the court is driven in these circumstances. That obvious course is to require the production of the contemner, Dr. H. Borobabu Singh in person before this Court, giving such a direction to the authority considered to be appropriate, in the circumstances of the case, to ensure compliance of this order.

It is our consitutional duty which requires us to make this order, to uphold the majesty of law and justify the confidence of the people, that no one in this country is above the law and governance is not of men but of the 'rule of law'. It is unfortunate that this action has to be taken against a person who happens to be the Speaker of a Legislative Assembly, but that does not permit us to apply the law differently to him when he was wilfully and con!umaciouly driven the court to this course. We must remind our- selves that the 'rule of law' permits no one to claim to be above the la'." E and it means - 'be you ever so high the law is above you.' It was said long back : 'to seek to be wiser than the laws, is forbidden by the law'.

We are also of the opinion that the issuance of a direction to any Magistrate to produce the contemner in this Court would be merely an exercise in futility in view of the obvious conduct of the contemner which includes the threat even to the Chief Secretary of the State as indicated by him. The learned Solicitor General of India appearing for the Union of India submitted that in case it is considered appropriate to issue such a direction to the Government of India, necessary action in this behalf would be taken by the Government of India to comply with !he order. We have no doubt that in the existing situation to which this Court has been driven by the wilful and contumacim1s conduct of the contemner himself, the only appropriate order to make is to direct the Government of India to produce the contemner, Dr. H. Borobabu Singh in person in this Court on the next date of bearing, taking such steps as are necessary for the purpose. We H direct, accordingly. It is further clarified that the Government of India

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would be entitled to take all such steps, which are necessary including the A use of minimum force which may be required, for compliance of this Court's order directing the production of the contemner in this Court. A copy of this order be sent forthwith by the Registrar {Judicial) to the Hon!i Secretary, Government of India for prompt compliance. The next date of hearing is fixed for March 23, 1993 on which .date the Government of India B must produce the contemner, Dr. H. Borobabu Singh before this Court.

List on March 23, 1993.

ORDER

In obedience to the earlier directions of this Court, Dr. H. Borobabu C Singh is present in person in Court. We take note of his earlier affidavit filed on 183.93 that he has fully complied with all the orders and directions relating to the case of Manilal Singh. Dr. Singh has also expressed regret for the unhappy events. We appreciate this gesture on his part, though he could have done the same much earlier. We take note of this· and drop all D further proceedings in the matter.

These contempt proceedings, therefore, come to an end.

N.V.K. Petitions dropped.