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2019 DIGILAW 355 (GAU)

Newaj Uddin Laskar v. E. Doimari

2019-03-15

ACHINTYA MALLA BUJOR BARUA, AJIT BORTHAKUR

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JUDGMENT : ACHINTYA MALLA BUJOR BARUA, J. Heard Ms. M. Medhi, learned counsel for the petitioner as well as Ms. P.A. Talukdar, learned counsel for the sole respondent-contemnor. 2. The Kachudaram P.S. Case No. 31/2018 was registered under section 420/406 of the IPC corresponding to G.R. Case No. 1891/2018. The investigation in the said police case was assailed by the alleged accused in Criminal Petition No. 404/2018 under section 482 of Cr.P.C. By the order dated 4.5.2018, further proceeding pursuant to Kachudaram P.S. Case No. 31/2018 under section 420/406 of the IPC was stayed till the returnable date. 3. In the aforesaid circumstances, this contempt petition is preferred on the ground that bank account of petitioner-Board of directors of Mangalpur Boalihawar Co-operative Society Ltd., which was earlier frozen at the instance of the Officer in-charge of Kachudaram Police Station had not been de-freezed after the interim order dated 4.5.2018. 4. We have taken note of that firstly the interim order shows that further proceeding in Kachudaram P.S. Case No. 31/2018 is stayed which itself may give an indication that whatever was done prior to the said order has not been obliterated. Secondly, we also do not find any requirement in the order dated 4.5.2018, which requires Officer-in-charge to de-freeze the account of the petitioner/Board of directors of Mangalpur Boalihawar Cooperative Society Ltd. Thirdly, even if it is construed though not accepted that such implication had arisen from the interim order dated 4.5.2018, still such act of not defreezing cannot be a criminal contempt. 5. Section 2(b) and 2(c) of the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971 are as follows: “(b) “Civil contempt” means wilful 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 proceeding; or (iii) interferes or tends to interfere with, or obstructs or tends to obstruct, the administration of justice in any other manner.” 6. As is apparent from the definition of civil contempt and criminal contempt that a civil contempt may arise if there is any wilful disobedience to any judgment, decree, direction, order, writ or other process of a court or wilful breach of an undertaking given to a court. In the instant case, even if it is accepted that the implication of the order dated 4.5.2018 was that there is a requirement of the Officer in-charge of Kachudaram P.S. Case No. 31/2018 to de-freeze the account of the petitioner/Board of directors of Mangalpur Boalihawar Cooperative Society Ltd., the same at the best may be a cause for civil contempt. 7. Criminal contempt can arise only when any publication 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 scandalises or tends to scandalise, or lowers or tends to lower the authority of any court; or prejudices, or interferes or tends to interfere with, the due course of any judicial proceeding; or interferes or tends to interfere with, or obstructs or tends to obstruct, the administration of justice in any other manner. A criminal contempt cannot arise merely because the order alleged to have been violated even passed in a criminal petition. 8. In the instant case, we do not find any material which can lead to a conclusion that the respondent-contemnor had either scandalised or tends to scandalise or tends to lower the authority of any court or prejudice or interfere in the due course of any judicial proceeding or had interfered or tend to interfere with the administration of justice in any other manner. 9. Accordingly, we are of the view that no criminal contempt had arisen against the respondent-contemnor. 10. Accordingly, the criminal contempt petition stands dismissed. However, the dismissal of the criminal contempt petition shall not be a bar for the petitioner from proceeding under any other provision of law, if the petitioner continues to remain aggrieved by the bank accounts of the petitioner-Board of directors of Mangalpur Boalihawar Cooperative Society Ltd. having been kept frozen. 11. Criminal contempt petition stands dismissed.