1994 (11) TMI 425

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....this suo motu contempt action taken against respondent Anil Kumar for his having filed a fabricated document to oppose the prayer of his wife seeking transfer of a matrimonial proceeding from Delhi to Unnao. It shall be first required to be seen whether Anil did file a fabricated document and then we shall address ourselves as to whether filing of a forged document with intention to defraud amounts to contempt of court, as this expression has been defined in Section 2 of the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971 (the Act). 4.Insofar as the first aspect is concerned, we entertain no doubt, as the case put by Anil contemner in his show- cause that the Experience Certificate dated 4-3-1993 purportedly from the Principal, V.S.S.M. Inter College, Moti Nagar, Unnao, had been signed by Khem Chandra, the Principal, is not acceptable on the face of the affidavit of the Principal himself, according to whom, the certificate is a "forged and fabricated document". The averments in the show-cause filed by Anil, after issuance of contempt notice, that he had contacted one A.K. Mathur, working as Additional General Manager in Ordnance Factory at Kanpur, who in turn spoke to one V.K. Upadhyay, Manager of....

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....r the pacific settlement of disputes and for the maintenance of law and order. In the general interests of the community it is imperative that the authority of the courts should not be imperilled and that recourse to them should not be subject to unjustifiable interference. When such unjustifiable interference is suppressed it is not because those charged with the responsibilities of administering justice are concerned for their own dignity: it is because the very structure of ordered life is at risk if the recognised courts of the land are so flouted that their authority wanes and is supplanted." 8. To enable the courts to ward off unjustified interference in their working, those who indulge in immoral acts like perjury, prevarication and motivated falsehoods have to be appropriately dealt with, without which it would not be possible for any court to administer justice in the true sense and to the satisfaction of those who approach it in the hope that truth would ultimately prevail. People would have faith in courts when they would find that (truth alone triumphs) is an achievable aim there; or (it is virtue which ends in victory) is not only inscribed in emblem but really happ....

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....quently, an application was made to one of the police magistrates for a warrant for the arrest of the same person upon a criminal charge of assault and a warrant was issued accordingly. As the Acting Chief Justice had earlier refused the warrant, the Supreme Court felt that the entire proceeding initiated by the appellant was an abuse to the process of justice and it was held that the appellant, by initiating the criminal proceedings, was influenced by the intention of defying the Acting Chief Justice who refused the civil warrant of arrest; and being of this view the appellant was held guilty of contempt and his name was ordered to be removed from the roll of barristers and solicitors of the Supreme Court in question, apart from being fined. On appeal being preferred to the Privy Council, it was held that as the evidence did not show any intent to defraud on the part of the appellant no contempt was committed; at the most he had committed an irregularity for which some pecuniary penalty was adequate punishment. The importance of this case for our purpose is that had the Privy Council felt satisfied about intent to defraud, the appeal would have been dismissed and the view taken by....

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....oceeding was completed recently he could secure a job and has started his "life afresh". Thus, the apology tendered is not a product of remorse or contrition, which it has to be to merit acceptance, as stated in M.B. Sanghi v. High Court of Punjab & Haryana (1991) 3 SCC 600: 1991 SCC (Cri) 897 in which case it was also pointed out that an apology merely to protect against rigours of law is no apology. In Major General B.M. Bhattacharjee v. Russel Estate Corpn (1993) 2 SCC 533  an "unconditional apology" while trying to justify the act (similar is the position here as would appear from the averments made in paragraph 5 of the aforesaid affidavit) was not accepted. Recently, in K.A. Mohammed Ali v. C.N. Prasannan 1994 Supp (3) SCC 509 : JT (1994) 6 SC 584, a belated apology sought was refused. 16.Had the contemner shown real contriteness and regret for the act done, we would have perhaps accepted his apology; but as it cannot be used as a weapon of defence to get purged of the guilt, which precisely the contemner has sought to do as he desires to avoid worldly suffering which would follow if sentenced, we reject his offer and proceed to decide the question of sentence. Let it....