Source: http://courtverdict.com/supreme-court-of-india/ram-kishan-fauji-vs-state-of-haryana-and-ors
Timestamp: 2019-04-24 18:35:25+00:00

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Ram Kishan Fauji Vs. State of Haryana and Ors. .
Respondent: State of Haryana and Ors. .
2. The Chief Secretary to the Government of Haryana in exercise of power under Section 8(1) of the Haryana Lokayukta Act, 2002 (for brevity, “the Act”) made a reference to the Lokayukta, Haryana to enquire into the allegations, namely, (i) whether the allegations of bribery levelled in the alleged Compact Disc (CD) are correct, (ii) whether Change of Land Use (CLU)/Licence was granted in pursuance of these allegations, and (iii) whether by such act, any illegality was committed. The said reference was registered as Complaint No. 773 of 2013 in the office of the Lokayukta, Haryana.
3. Acting on the reference made by the Chief Secretary, the office of the Lokayukta issued a public notice requesting the public in general to send any such material including Video Compact Disc (VCD) connected with the subject in issue. Apart from the public notice, communications were sent to various departments of the Government, television channels and newspapers for furnishing all materials to find out the allegations of corruption against the persons who have been named in the complaint.
4. As the facts would unfold, the Lokayukta, Haryana, issued notice to the appellant in exercise of power under Section 14 of the Act to offer his explanation. In pursuance of the said communication, the appellant filed a reply and the Lokayukta granted him time to place on record his evidence in the form of an affidavit. When the matter stood thus, on 16.01.2014, two persons allegedly conducted a sting operation and filed their affidavits before the Lokayukta. The appellant, in the meantime, got the CD examined from M/s Truth Labs, Bangalore and also got the forensic examination of the audio and a report was submitted on 20.01.2014 opining, as averred, that the audio and video recording in the earlier CD was not continuous and the recording did not appear to be authentic. Be that as it may, on weighing the material brought on record, the Lokayukta thought it appropriate to recommend for registration of FIR for offences punishable under the provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 (for short, “the 1988 Act”) and investigation by a senior competent officer of impeccable integrity.
5. At this stage, it is necessary to mention that the appellant had preferred Civil Writ Petition No. 4554/2014 (O&M) praying for issue of a writ in the nature of certiorari for quashing of the impugned orders dated 20.01.2014 and 11.02.2014 passed by the respondent No. 2 whereby it had recommended registration of a case against the petitioner therein under the provisions of the 1988 Act and further for issue of a writ or direction in the nature of mandamus restraining the respondent No. 1 from initiating any consequential proceeding on the basis of the impugned orders. The grounds asserted for the assail were that there was no verification of the genuinity of the alleged VCD and that the action taken was perverse, illegal, arbitrary and violative of the provisions of the Act.
8. While so stating, the learned Single Judge ruled that if there is any other material or information of corrupt practice against the writ petitioner, the State shall be at liberty to carry out the investigation as per law.
“However, with a view to ensure absolute objectivity in the ongoing investigation and to rule out any possibility of alleged prejudice against respondent No.1, the Director General of Police, Haryana is directed to re- constitute a Special Investigation Team comprising three senior IPS officers who originally do not belong to the State of Haryana.
10. Questioning the sustainability of the order passed by the Division Bench, Dr. Rajeev Dhawan, learned senior counsel, has raised a singular contention that the LPA preferred before the Division Bench was not maintainable inasmuch as the learned Single Judge had exercised criminal jurisdiction. He has placed reliance on certain authorities to which we shall refer to at the relevant place in the course of our deliberations.
11. Mr. Sanjay Kumar Visen, learned counsel appearing for the respondent State, resisting the aforesaid submission, would contend that the writ petition was registered as a civil writ petition for the purpose of issuing a writ of certiorari and the exercise of jurisdiction by the High Court is civil in nature and, therefore, the jurisdiction exercised is civil jurisdiction that invites interference in intra-court appeal. That apart, contends Mr. Visen that the exercise of power of the learned Single Judge is strictly under Article 226 of the Constitution of India and, hence, an intra-court appeal deserved to be entertained by the Division Bench. It is further submitted by him that the Lokayukta is a quasi-judicial body and when, at its instance, action is taken for inquiry, it has to come within the ambit and scope of civil jurisdiction and not criminal jurisdiction. Learned counsel for the State has stressed on the status of Lokayukta and for that matter has commended us to the authority in Justice Chandrashekaraiah (Retd.) v. Janekere C. Krishna & others.
“As mentioned above, an Upa-Lokayukta does function as an adjudicating authority but the Act places him short of a judicial authority. He is much more “judicial” than an investigator or an inquisitorial authority largely exercising administrative or executive functions and powers. Under the circumstances, taking an overall view of the provisions of the Act and the law laid down, my conclusion is that the Upa-Lokayukta is a quasi-judicial authority or in any event an authority exercising functions, powers, duties and responsibilities conferred by the Act as a sui generis quasi-judicial authority.
15. The aforesaid pronouncement was rendered when the appointment of Upa- Lokayukta was challenged on the ground that one of the constitutional functionaries was not consulted. Emphasis was on the nature of the post held by Lokayukta or Upa-Lokayukta.
16. The aforesaid paragraphs would clearly show that neither the Lokayukta nor Upa-Lokayukta has any jurisdiction or authority to direct implementation of his report by the constitutional functionary but when after investigation, it is found that the public servant has committed any criminal offence, prosecution can be initiated for which prior sanction of any authority is required under any law for such prosecution and the same shall be deemed to have been granted.
17. Relying on the aforesaid judgment, it is submitted by Mr. Visen that when the posts held by Lokayukta and Upa-Lokayukta are quasi- judicial in nature, their functioning has to be given the same character and once they are clothed with such functioning and action taken by them is subject to challenge before the High Court under Article 226 of the Constitution seeking a writ of certiorari for quashment of the same, in that event, the adjudication has to be regarded as civil in nature. Elaborating further, he would submit that in the instant case, a civil writ was filed challenging the opinion and recommendation of the Lokayukta and, therefore, the jurisdiction sought to be exercised is under Article 226 of the Constitution of India and resultantly, the order passed by the learned Single Judge is amenable to correction in intra-court appeal.
18. The maze needs to be immediately cleared. In the instant case, we are really not concerned with the nature of the post held by Lokayukta or Upa-Lokayukta. We are also not concerned how the recommendation of the said authorities is to be challenged and what will be the procedure therefor. As has been held by this Court, neither the Lokayukta nor Upa- Lokayukta can direct implementation of his report, but it investigates and after investigation, if it is found that a public servant has committed a criminal offence, prosecution can be initiated.
20. On a plain reading of the aforesaid clause of the Letters Patent, it is manifest that no appeal lies against the order passed by the Single Judge in exercise of criminal jurisdiction. Thus, the question that is required to be posed is whether the learned Single Judge, in the obtaining factual matrix has exercised criminal jurisdiction or not.
22. Clauses 17 and 18, being pertinent, are extracted below:- “17. And We do further ordain that the High Court of Judicature at Lahore shall have extraordinary original criminal jurisdiction over all persons residing in places within the jurisdiction of any Court subject to its superintendence, and shall have authority to try at its discretion any such persons brought before it on charges preferred by any magistrate or other officer specially empowered by the Government in that behalf.
24. From the aforesaid authority, two aspects are absolutely clear. First, where an appeal is not excluded against the judgment of the High Court of a Single Judge, an appeal would lie to the Division Bench and second, if the appropriate Legislature has expressly or by necessary implication not taken away a right of appeal, the appeal shall lie from the Single Judge under Clause 10 of the Letters Patent to the High Court.
25. In this context, reference to the Constitution Bench judgment in Jamshed N. Guzdar v. State of Maharashtra and others would be apposite. In the said case, the controversy arose pertaining to the constitutional validity of the Bombay City Civil Court and Bombay Court of Small Causes (Enhancement of Pecuniary Jurisdiction and Amendment) Act, 1986 (Maharashtra Act 15 of 1987) (for short “the 1987 Act”), Maharashtra High Court (Hearing of Writ Petitions by Division Bench and Abolition of Letters Patent Appeals) Act, 1986 (Maharashtra Act 17 of 1986) (for short “the 1986 Act”) and Madhya Pradesh Uchcha Nyayalaya (Letters Patent Appeals Samapti) Adhiniyam, 1981 (for short ‘the Adhiniyam’) by which State Legislatures had abolished the intra-court appeals provided under the Letters Patent. It is apt to note here that the Full Bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court, by majority opinion, had struck down the legislation abolishing Letters Patent Appeal as invalid.
“73. Entry 46 of List III relates to jurisdiction and power of all courts except the Supreme Court i.e. including the City Civil Court and High Court with respect to any matter in List III including the Civil Procedure Code in Entry 13. The contention that merely constituting and organising High Courts without conferring jurisdiction to deal with the matters on them does not serve any purpose, cannot be accepted. The Constitution itself has conferred jurisdiction on High Courts, for instance, under Articles 226 and 227. This apart, under various enactments, both Central and State, certain jurisdiction is conferred on High Courts. The High Courts have power and jurisdiction to deal with such matters as are conferred by the Constitution and other statutes. This power of “administration of justice” has been included in the Concurrent List after 3-1-1977 possibly to enable both the Centre as well as the States to confer jurisdiction on High Courts under various enactments passed by the Centre or the State to meet the needs of the respective States in relation to specific subjects. Thus, viewed from any angle, it is not possible to agree that the 1987 Act and the 1986 Act are beyond the competence of the State Legislature.
27. On the aforesaid analysis, the Court set aside the judgment of the Full Bench of the High Court of Madhya Pradesh and dismissed the writ petitions filed by others challenging the 1986 Act and the 1987 Act. Thus, it has been clearly held that the State Legislature has competence to amend the Letters Patent.
28. The purpose of referring to this judgment is that till a competent legislature takes away the power of the Letters Patent, the same can be exercised by the High Court. However, while exercising the power under the Letters Patent, it is imperative to see what is the nature of jurisdiction that has actually been provided in the Letters Patent. The exercise of jurisdiction has to be within the ambit and scope of the authority enshrined in the provision meant for intra-court appeal.
29. At this stage, we may refer to some of the pronouncements commended to us by the learned senior counsel for the appellant. In Commissioner of Income-Tax, Bombay & another v. Ishwarlal Bhagwandas and others, the High Court of Bombay under Article 226 of the Constitution had quashed the orders passed by the Income Tax Officer and the Commissioner of Income Tax. Against the orders passed by the High Court, the Commissioner of Income Tax and the Income Tax Officer prayed for grant of certificate to the High Court and after grant of such certificate, appealed to this Court. At the commencement of hearing of the appeal, the learned counsel for the assessee raised a preliminary objection that the appeal filed by the revenue was incompetent because the High Court had no power under Article 133 of the Constitution to certify a proposed appeal against an order in a proceeding initiated by a petition for the issue of a writ under Article 226 of the Constitution inasmuch as the proceeding before the High Court was not “a civil proceeding” within the meaning of Article 133.
33. It further held that a civil proceeding is, therefore, one in which a person seeks to enforce by appropriate relief the alleged infringement of his civil rights against another person or the State, and which, if the claim is proved, would result in the declaration, express or implied, of the right claimed and relief such as payment of debt, damages, compensation, delivery of specific property, enforcement of personal rights, determination of status, etc.
34. The aforesaid authority makes a clear distinction between a civil proceeding and a criminal proceeding. As far as criminal proceeding is concerned, it clearly stipulates that a criminal proceeding is ordinarily one which, if carried to its conclusion, may result in imposition of (i) sentence, and (ii) it can take within its ambit the larger interest of the State, orders to prevent apprehended breach of peace and orders to bind down persons who are a danger to the maintenance of peace and order. The Court has ruled that the character of the proceeding does not depend upon the nature of the tribunal which is invested with the authority to grant relief but upon the nature of the right violated and the appropriate relief which may be claimed.
36. In the ultimate analysis, the two-Judge Bench held that the petition filed by the appellant before the Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court was admittedly under Article 227 of the Constitution and under the rules of the High Court, it was heard by a Single Judge and under Clause 15 of the Letters Patent of that High Court, an intra-court appeal against the decision of the learned Single Judge was expressly barred.
38. The Court in the said case accepted the decision rendered in Ramesh Chandra Sankla (supra) and opined that a statement by a learned Single Judge that he has exercised power under Article 227 cannot take away the right of appeal against such judgment if the power is otherwise found to have been exercised under Article 226. The vital factor for determination of the maintainability of the intra-court appeal is the nature of jurisdiction invoked by the party and the true nature of the order passed by the learned Single Judge.
43. Recently, in Jogendrasinhji Vijaysinghji v. State of Gujarat and others the Court was dealing with a batch of appeals that arose from the High Court of Gujarat as regards the maintainability of Letters Patent Appeal. The Court referred to the nine-Judge Bench decision in Naresh Shridhar Mirajkar (supra) and the three-Judge Bench decision in Radhey Shyam (supra) and ruled that a judicial order passed by the civil court can only be assailed and scrutinised under Article 227 of the Constitution and, hence, no intra-court appeal is maintainable. 44. As the controversy related to further two aspects, namely, whether the nomenclature of article is sufficient enough and further, whether a tribunal is a necessary party to the litigation, the two-Judge Bench proceeded to answer the same. In that context, the Court referred to the authorities in Lokmat Newspapers (P) Ltd. v. Shankarprasad, Kishorilal (supra), Ashok K. Jha (supra) and Ramesh Chandra Sankla (supra) and opined that maintainability of a letters patent appeal would depend upon the pleadings in the writ petition, the nature and character of the order passed by the learned Single Judge, the type of directions issued regard being had to the jurisdictional perspectives in the constitutional context. It further observed that barring the civil court, from which order as held by the three-Judge Bench in Radhey Shyam (supra) that a writ petition can lie only under Article 227 of the Constitution, orders from tribunals cannot always be regarded for all purposes to be under Article 227 of the Constitution. Whether the learned Single Judge has exercised the jurisdiction under Article 226 or under Article 227 or both, would depend upon various aspects. There can be orders passed by the learned Single Judge which can be construed as an order under both the articles in a composite manner, for they can co-exist, coincide and imbricate. It was reiterated that it would depend upon the nature, contour and character of the order and it will be the obligation of the Division Bench hearing the letters patent appeal to discern and decide whether the order has been passed by the learned Single Judge in exercise of jurisdiction under Article 226 or 227 of the Constitution or both. The two-Judge Bench further clarified that the Division Bench would also be required to scrutinise whether the facts of the case justify the assertions made in the petition to invoke the jurisdiction under both the articles and the relief prayed on that foundation. The delineation with regard to necessary party not being relevant in the present case, the said aspect need not be adverted to. 45. We have referred to these decisions only to highlight that it is beyond any shadow of doubt that the order of civil court can only be challenged under Article 227 of the Constitution and from such challenge, no intra-court appeal would lie and in other cases, it will depend upon the other factors as have been enumerated therein.
(a) An appeal shall lie from the judgment of a Single Judge to a Division Bench of the High Court if it is so permitted within the ambit and sweep of the Letters Patent.
(b) The power conferred on the High Court by the Letters Patent can be abolished or curtailed by the competent legislature by bringing appropriate legislation.
(c) A writ petition which assails the order of a civil court in the High Court has to be understood, in all circumstances, to be a challenge under Article 227 of the Constitution and determination by the High Court under the said Article and, hence, no intra-court appeal is entertainable.
48. It is propounded by Mr. Visen that a writ of certiorari can be issued on many a ground and when the learned Single Judge has issued a writ of the present nature in quashing the order of the Upa-Lokayukta, it has to be treated as an order under Article 226 of the Constitution of India. That apart, he urged that the issue whether it would be under Article 226 or 227 is to be determined by the Division Bench of the High Court.
49. The aforesaid argument suffers from a fundamental fallacy. It is because the submission is founded on the plinth of whether the writ jurisdiction has been exercised under Article 226 or 227 of the Constitution. It does not take note of the nature of jurisdiction and the relief sought. If the proceeding, nature and relief sought pertain to anything connected with criminal jurisdiction, intra-court appeal would not lie as the same is not provided in Clause 10 of the Letters Patent. Needless to emphasise, if an appeal in certain jurisdictions is not provided for, it cannot be conceived of. Therefore, the reliance placed upon the larger Bench authority in Hari Vishnu Kamath (supra) does not render any assistance to the argument advanced by the learned counsel for the respondent-State.
50. The crux of the present matter is whether the learned Single Judge has exercised “civil jurisdiction” or “criminal jurisdiction”. In that regard, Mr. Visen has strenuously contended that the Lokayukta is a quasi- judicial authority and the proceeding being quasi-judicial in nature, it cannot be regarded as one relatable to criminal jurisdiction, but it may be treated as a different kind or category of civil proceeding. His argument is supported by the Full Bench decision of the High Court of Andhra Pradesh in Gangaram Kandaram v. Sunder Chikha Amin and others. In the said case, a writ petition was filed for issue of a writ of mandamus to declare the action of the respondents in registering crimes under Sections 420 and 406 of the Indian Penal Code against the writ petitioner in FIR Nos. 14/97, 137/97 and 77/97 as illegal and to quash the same. The learned Single Judge had allowed the writ petition by order dated 06.08.1997 and quashed the FIRs. The order passed by the learned Single Judge was assailed by the 7th respondent in intra-court appeal. The Full Bench posed the following question:- “Whether appeal under Clause 15 of the Letters Patent of the Court lies against the judgment in such a case. In other words, whether a proceeding for quashing of investigation in a criminal case under Article 226 of the Constitution of India is a civil proceeding and the judgment as above is a judgment in a civil proceeding in exercise of the original jurisdiction of the Court for the purposes of appeal under Clause 15 of the Letters Patent."
81. From the totality of facts and circumstances, we have no hesitation in holding mat the learned single Judge has passed an order in exercise of criminal jurisdiction. At the cost of repetition, we reiterate what we have already stated earlier that the proceedings were of a criminal nature. Whether a criminal Court takes cognizance of an offence or sends a complaint for investigation under Sub-section (3) of Section 156 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 does not make difference so far as the nature of proceedings is concerned. Even if cognizance is not taken, that fact would not take out the case from the purview of criminal jurisdiction.
56. Being of this view, the Division Bench ruled that as Clause 15 of the Letters Patent expressly bars an appeal against the order passed by a Single Judge of the High Court in exercise of criminal jurisdiction, LPAs are not maintainable and, accordingly, dismissed the same.
57. From the aforesaid analysis, it is demonstrable that the Gujarat High Court has opined that relying on the authority of this Court in Ishwarlal Bhagwandas (supra), the issue whether the proceedings are civil or not would depend upon the nature of the right violated and the appropriate relief which might be claimed and not upon the nature of the tribunal which has been invested to grant relief. The Division Bench further opined that even if cognizance is not taken in respect of a criminal case, it would not take out the case from the purview of criminal jurisdiction. Thus, it has been held by the Division Bench that when there is a proceeding under Article 226 of the Constitution arising from an order made by a Court in exercise of power under the Code of Criminal Procedure, it would be a criminal proceeding within the meaning of Letters Patent.
61. As we find from the decisions of the aforesaid three High Courts, it is evident that there is no disagreement or conflict on the principle that if an appeal is barred under Clause 10 or Clause 15 of the Letters Patent, as the case may be, no appeal will lie. The High Court of Andhra Pradesh, however, has held that when the power is exercised under Article 226 of the Constitution for quashing of a criminal proceeding, there is no exercise of criminal jurisdiction. It has distinguished the proceeding for quashing of FIR under Section 482 CrPC and, in that context, has opined that from such an order, no appeal would lie. On the contrary, the High Courts of Gujarat and Delhi, on the basis of the law laid down by this Court in Ishwarlal Bhagwandas (supra), have laid emphasis on the seed of initiation of criminal proceeding, the consequence of a criminal proceeding and also the nature of relief sought before the Single Judge under Article 226 of the Constitution. The conception of ‘criminal jurisdiction’ as used in Clause 10 of the Letters Patent is not to be construed in the narrow sense. It encompasses in its gamut the inception and the consequence. It is the field in respect of which the jurisdiction is exercised, is relevant. The contention that solely because a writ petition is filed to quash an investigation, it would have room for intra-court appeal and if a petition is filed under inherent jurisdiction under Section 482 CrPC, there would be no space for an intra-court appeal, would create an anomalous, unacceptable and inconceivable situation. The provision contained in the Letters Patent does not allow or permit such an interpretation. When we are required to consider a bar or non-permissibility, we have to appreciate the same in true letter and spirit. It confers jurisdiction as regards the subject of controversy or nature of proceeding and that subject is exercise of jurisdiction in criminal matters. It has nothing to do whether the order has been passed in exercise of extraordinary jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution or inherent jurisdiction under Section 482 CrPC. In this regard, an example can be cited. In the State of Uttar Pradesh, Section 438 CrPC has been deleted by the State amendment and the said deletion has been treated to be constitutionally valid by this Court in Kartar Singh v. State of Punjab. However, that has not curtailed the extraordinary power of the High Court to entertain a plea of anticipatory bail as has been held in Lal Kamlendra Pratap Singh v. State of Uttar Pradesh and others and Hema Mishra v. State of Uttar Pradesh and others. But that does not mean that an order passed by the Single Judge in exercise of Article 226 of the Constitution relating to criminal jurisdiction, can be made the subject matter of intra-court appeal. It is not provided for and it would be legally inappropriate to think so.
62. In view of the aforesaid premised reasons, we hold that the High Courts of Gujarat and Delhi have correctly laid down the law and the view expressed by the Full Bench of the High Court of Andhra Pradesh is incorrect.
64. On the aforesaid basis, the Division Bench ruled that in a proceeding under Article 226 consisting of civil rights, the proceedings are civil in nature falling within the ambit of Clause 10 of the Letters Patent. In the said case, the detention was under the COFEPOSA Act. The Court observed that the said detention is purely preventive without any trial in a criminal court and the challenge to such detention is for the enforcement of a fundamental civil right and, therefore, a writ under Article 226 for issue of Habeas Corpus in such like matters cannot be considered as a proceeding under criminal jurisdiction even though the writ petition is identified as a criminal writ petition under the High Court Rules and others. The said decision has to be carefully appreciated. The nomenclature of a writ petition is not the governing factor. What is relevant is what is eventually being sought to be enforced. The Division Bench observed that as there is a preventive detention, there is a violation of fundamental civil right. The said decision, as is noticeable, was rendered in a different context. We are only inclined to say that the said authority does not assist the proposition expounded by the learned counsel for the State.
65. In the case at hand, the writ petition was filed under Article 226 of the Constitution for quashing of the recommendation of the Lokayukta. The said recommendation would have led to launching of criminal prosecution, and, as the factual matrix reveals, FIR was registered and criminal investigation was initiated. The learned Single Judge analysed the report and the ultimate recommendation of the statutory authority and thought it seemly to quash the same and after quashing the same, as he found that FIR had been registered, he annulled it treating the same as a natural consequence. Thus, the effort of the writ petitioner was to avoid a criminal investigation and the final order of the writ court is quashment of the registration of FIR and the subsequent investigation. In such a situation, to hold that the learned Single Judge, in exercise of jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution, has passed an order in a civil proceeding as the order that was challenged was that of the quasi- judicial authority, that is, the Lokayukta, would be conceptually fallacious. It is because what matters is the nature of the proceeding, and that is the litmus test.
66. In view of the aforesaid prismatic reasoning, the irresistible conclusion is that the Letters Patent Appeal was not maintainable before the Division Bench and, consequently, the order passed therein is wholly unsustainable and, accordingly, it is set aside. However, as the State had been diligently agitating its grievance in a legal forum which it thought had jurisdiction, we grant liberty to the State to assail the order of the learned Single Judge in accordance with law.
67. Consequently, the appeal is allowed and the impugned order is set aside. However, liberty is granted to the State to challenge the order of the learned Single Judge. There shall be no order as to costs.
Tags: CIVIL APPEAL NO. 4288 OF 2017Dipak Misra A.M. Khanwilkar Mohan M. ShantanagoudarRam Kishan FaujiState of Haryana and Ors.

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