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TMI Blog2012 (5) TMI 605X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... al officer, being aggrieved by the comments and observations passed by the learned Single Judge of High Court of Judicature at Allahabad in Criminal Revision No. 1541 of 2007 vide order dated 31.05.2007, has preferred the present appeal. The brief resume of facts are that one Sunil Solanki had filed an application under Section 156 (3) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (for short the Code ) before the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Bulandshahar with the allegation that on 11.02.2007 at 09.30 p.m. when he was standing outside the door of his house along with some others, a marriage procession passed through the front door of his house and at that juncture, one Mauzzim Ali accosted him and eventually fired at him from his country made pistol which caused injuries on the abdomen area of Shafeeque, one of his friends. However, as good fortune would have it, said Shafeeque escaped unhurt. Because of the said occurrence, Sunil Solanki endeavoured hard to get the FIR registered at the concerned police station but the entire effort became an exercise in futility as a consequence of which he was compelled to knock at the doors of the learned Chief Judicial Magistrate by filing an application u ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ial officer enjoys a status in the eyes of the public at large and his reputation stabilises the inherent faith of a litigant in the system and establishes authenticity and hence, the remarks made by the learned Single Judge should not be allowed to stand. 8. At the very outset, we make it clear that we are neither concerned with the justifiability of the order passed by the Chief Judicial Magistrate nor are we required to dwell upon the legal pregnability of the order passed by the learned Single Judge as far as it pertains to dislodging of the order of the learned Magistrate. We are only obliged to address to the issue whether the aforesaid remarks and the directions have been made in consonance with the principles that have been laid down by the various pronouncements of this Court and is in accord with judicial decorum and propriety. 9. In Ishwari Prasad Mishra v. Mohammad Isa, AIR 1963 SC 1728, the High Court, while dealing with the judgment of the trial court in an appeal before it, had passed severe strictures against the trial court at several places and, in substance, had suggested that the decision of the trial court was not only perverse but was also based on extra ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... rder in unholy haste and hurry . That apart certain observations were made. While not appreciating the said remarks in the judgment against a colleague, their Lordships opined that such observations even about the Judges of subordinate courts with the clearest evidence of impropriety are uncalled for in a judgment. The Constitution Bench further proceeded to state that it is necessary to emphasise that judicial decorum has to be maintained at all times and even where criticism is justified it must be in language of utmost restraint, keeping always in view that the person making the comment is also fallible. Even when there is jurisdiction for criticism, the language should be dignified and restrained. 11. In Ishwar Chand Jain v High Court of Punjab and Haryana and Anr., AIR 1988 SC 1395 it has been observed that while exercising control over subordinate judiciary under Article 235 of the Constitution, the High Court is under a Constitutional obligation to guide and protect subordinate judicial officers. 12. In K. P. Tiwari v. State of Madhya Pradesh, AIR 1994 SC 1031 the High Court while reversing the order passed by the lower Court had made certain remarks about the interes ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... rcise self-restraint. There are ways and ways of expressing disapproval of the orders of the subordinate courts but attributing motives to them is certainly not one of them as that is the surest way to take the judiciary downhill. 13. In Kasi Nath Roy v. State of Bihar, AIR 1991 SC 3240 it has been ruled that in our hierarchical judicial system the appellate and revisional Courts have been set up with the pre-supposition that the lower Courts in some measure of cases can go wrong in decision making, both on facts as also on law. The superior Courts have been established to correct errors but the said correction has to be done in a befitting manner maintaining the dignity of the Court and independence of the judiciary. It is the obligation of the higher Courts to convey the message in the judgment to the officers concerned through a process of reasoning, essentially, persuasive, reasonable, mellow but clear and result orienting but rarely a rebuke. 14. In Braj Kishore Thakur v. Union of India, 1997 SCR 420 this Court disapproved the practice of passing strictures for orders against the subordinate officers. In that context the two-Judge Bench observed thus:- No greater da ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e High Court, the statutory jurisdiction exercised by the High Court and eventually opined that the High Courts have to remember that criticisms and observations touching a subordinate judicial officer incorporated in judicial pronouncements have their won mischievous infirmities. Thereafter the Court proceeded to enumerate the infirmities. They read as follows:- Firstly, the judicial officer is condemned unheard which is violative of principles of natural justice. A member of subordinate judiciary himself dispensing justice should not be denied this minimal natural justice so as to shield against being condemned unheard. Secondly, the harm caused by such criticism or observation may be incapable of being undone. Such criticism of the judicial officer contained in a judgment, reportable or not, is a pronouncement in open and therefore becomes public. The same Judge who found himself persuaded, sitting on judicial side, to make observations guided by the facts of a single case against a subordinate Judge may sitting on administrative side and apprised of overall meritorious performance of the subordinate Judge, may irretrievably regret his having made those observations on judi ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... pure, unadulterated reason. Alas! we are all the common growth of the Mother Earth even those of us who wear the long robe. 18. In State of Bihar v. Nilmani Sahu and Anr., (1999) 9 SCC 211 a sitting judge of the Patna High Court had approached this Court for expunction of the some observations made by this Court in disposing of a special leave petition arising out of a land acquisition proceeding. A Bench of this Court had used the expression We find that the view taken by the learned Singh Judge, Justice P. K. Dev, with due respect, if we can say so, is most atrocious . The learned Single Judge had treated this to be stigmatic and approached this Court and raised a contention that it was not necessary for the decision. A two-Judge Bench of this Court after hearing the learned counsel for the parties and considering the judgment of this Court opined the expression used in the judgment was wholly inappropriate inasmuch as when this Court uses an expression against the judgment of the High Court it must be in keeping with dignity of the person concerned. Eventually the said observations were deleted. 19. From the aforesaid enunciation of law it is quite clear that ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e time machine and dwell upon the sagacious saying of an eminent author who has said that there is a distinction between a man who has command over Shastras and the other who knows it and puts into practice. He who practises them can alone be called a vidvan . Though it was told in a different context yet the said principle can be taken recourse to, for one may know or be aware of that use of intemperate language should be avoided in judgments but while penning the same the control over the language is forgotten and acquired knowledge is not applied to the arena of practice. Or to put it differently the knowledge stands still and not verbalised into action. Therefore, a committed comprehensive endeavour has to be made to put the concept to practice so that it is concretised and fructified and the litigations of the present nature are avoided. 21. Coming to the case at hand in our considered opinion the observations, the comment and the eventual direction were wholly unwarranted and uncalled for. The learned Chief Judicial Magistrate had felt that the due to delay and other ancillary factors there was no justification to exercise the power under Section 156 (3) of the Code. Th ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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