Naresh Shridhar Mirajkar & Ors Vs. State of Maharashtra & ANR [1966] INSC 64 (3 March 1966)
03/03/1966 GAJENDRAGADKAR, P.B. (CJ) GAJENDRAGADKAR, P.B. (CJ) SARKAR, A.K.
WANCHOO, K.N.
HIDAYATULLAH, M.
SHAH, J.C.
MUDHOLKAR, J.R.
SIKRI, S.M.
BACHAWAT, R.S.
RAMASWAMI, V.
CITATION: 1967 AIR 1 1966 SCR (3) 744
CITATOR INFO :
RF 1967 SC1643 (274) RF 1973 SC 106 (105) RF 1973 SC1461 (1717) D 1974 SC 532 (12) R 1978 SC 597 (41,66,67) R 1980 SC 898 (56) RF 1981 SC 917 (11,12) RF 1981 SC2198 (21) R 1985 SC 61 (7) R 1986 SC 180 (31) R 1988 SC1531 (184) RF 1988 SC1883 (206) F 1989 SC1335 (22,26) R 1991 SC2176 (38)
ACT:
Practice and Procedure-Inherent jurisdiction of High CourtPower to stop publication of proceedings of a trial-Order if violates fundamental right under Art. 19(1)(a)-If amenable to proceedings under Art. 32 of the Constitution.
HEADNOTE:
In a suit for. defamation against the editor of a weekly newspaper, field on the original side of the High Court, one of the witnesses prayed that the Court may order that publicity should not be given to his evidence in the press as his business would be affected. After hearing arguments, the trial Judge passed an oral order prohibiting the publication of the evidence of the witness. A reporter of the weekly along with other journalists moved this Court under Art. 32 challenging the validity of the order. .
It was contended that : (i) the High Court did not have inherent power to pass the order; (ii) the impugned order violated the fundamental rights of the petitioners under Art. 19(1) (a); and (iii) the order was amenable to the writ jurisdiction of this Court under Art. 32.
HELD:(i) (Per Gajendragadkar C. J., Wanchoo, Mudholkar, Sikri, Bachawat and kainaswami, JJ.) : As the impugned order must be held to prevent the publication of the evidence of the witness during the course of the trial and not thereafter. and the order was passed to help the administration of justice for the purpose of obtaining true evidence in the case, the order was within the inherent power of the High Court. [754 A-B; 759 C] The High Court has inherent jurisdiction to hold a trial in camera if the ends of justice clearly and necessarily require the adoption of such a course. Section 14 of the Official Secrets Act, 1923 in terms recognises the existence of such inherent powers in its opening clause, and s. 151, Code of Civil Procedure , saves the inherent power of the High Court to make such orders as may be necessary for the ends of justice or to prevent abuse of the process of the Court. Such a power includes the power to hold a part of the trial in camera or to prohibit exessive publication of a part of the proceedings at such trial. (755 F; 759 C, G; 760 C] Scott v. Scott, [1913] 1 A.C. 417 and Moosbrugger v. Moosbrugger, (1912-13) 29 T.L.R. 658, referred to.
Per Sarkar J. : The High Court has inherent power to prevent publication of the proceedings of a trial. The power to prevent publication of proceedings is a facet of the power to hold, a trial in camera and cm from it. [776 C] Scott v. Scoot [1913] A.C. 417, explained.
Per Shah J. : The Code of Civil Procedure contains no express provision authorising the to hold its proceedings in camera, but if 745 excessive publicity itself operates as an instrument of injustice, the Court has inherent jurisdiction to pass an order excluding the public when the nature of the case necessitates such a course to be adopted An order made by a court in the course of a proceeding which it has jurisdiction to entertain-whether the order relates to the substance of the dispute between the parties or to the procedure, or to the rights of other persons, is not without jurisdiction, merely because it is erroneous. [804 B, C. F] Per Hidayatullah J. (dissenting): A Court which was holding a public trial from which the public was not excluded, cannot suppress the publication of the deposition of a witness, heard not in camera but in open Court, on the request of the witness that his business will suffer. [783 H, 789 D] Section 151 C.P.C. cannot be used to confer a discretion on the to turn its proceedings which should be open and public into a private affair. A trial in camera can only be used when a strong case exists for holding it in camera and inherent powers can only be reconised on well recognised principles. Where the legislature felt the special need it provided for it. It is not right to assume from s. 14 of the Official Secrets Act, 1923, that courts possess a general or inherent power of dispensing with open and public trials. [787 E, F, G, H; 789 C] English cases referred to.
(ii)(Per Gajendragadkar C.J., Wanchoo, Mudholkar, Sikri and Ramaswami, JJ.) : Just as an order passed by the Court on the merits of the dispute before it cannot be said to contravene the fundamental rights of the litigants before the Court, so the impugned order, which is also a judicial order, cannot be said to affect the fundamental rights of the petitioners. It was directly connected with the proceedings before the Court inasmuch as the Court found that justice could not be done between the parties and that the matter before it could not be satisfactorily decided unless publication of the evidence was prohibited pending the trial. if incidentally, the petitioners were not able to report what they. heard in Court, that cannot be said to make the impugned order invalid under Art. 19(1) (a). [761 D-F; 762 F-G] A. K Gopalan v. State of Madras, [1950] S.C.R. 88, 101, Ram Singh v. State, [1951] 1 S.C.R. 451 and The Parbhani Transport Cooperative Society Ltd. v. The RTA Aurangabad, [1960] 3 S.C.R. 177, followed.
Budhan Chowdhry v. State of Bihar, [1955] 1 S.C.R. 1045, explained.
Per Sarkar J. : The impugned order does not violate the fundamental right of the petitioners to freedom of speech and expression conferred by Art. 19(1) (a-. [777 D] If a judicial tribunal makes an order which it has jurisdiction to maim by applying a law which is valid in all respects, the order cannot offend a fundamental right. An order is within the jurisdiction of the tribunal which made it, if the tribunal had jurisdiction to decide the matters that were litigated before it and if the law which it, applied in making the order was a valid law. A tribunal having this jurisdiction does not act without jurisdiction if it makes an error in the application of the law. The impugned order is a judicial order within the jurisdiction of the Judge making it even though it restrained the petitioners who were not. parties to the proceedings. [774 F-G; 775 B, F-G; 776 B; 779 B, C] Ujjam Bai v. State of U.P. [1963] 1 S.C.R. 778, followed.
Sup Cl/66-2 746 Further, the order is based on a good and valid law. The power to prohibit publication of proceedings is essentially the same as the power to hold a trial in camera and the law empowering a trial in camera is a valid law and does not violate the fundamental right in regard to liberty of speech because, the person restrained is legally prevented from entering the Court and hearing the proceedings, and the liberty of speech is affected only indirectly. Moreover, the law empowering :a Court to prohibit publication of its proceedings is protected by Art. 19(2), because, the law relates to contempt of Court and the restriction is reasonable as it is based on the principle that publication would interfere with the course of justice and its due administration. [777 E-G; 778 C-E, G] The Parbhani Transport Cooperative Society Ltd. v. RTA Aurangabad, [1960] 3 S.C.R. and A. K. Gopalan v. State, [1950] 1 S.C.R. 88, followed.
Budhan Chowdhry v. The State, [1955] 1 S.C.R. 1045, explained.
Per Shah J. : Jurisdiction to exercise these powers which may affect rights of persons other than those who are parties to the litigation is either expressly granted to the Court by the statute or arises from the necessity to regulate the course of proceedings so as to make them an effective instrumentfor the administration of justice. An order made against a stranger in aid of administration of justice between contending parties or for enforcement of its adjudication does not directly infringe any fundamental right under Art. 19 of the person affected thereby, for it is founded either expressly or by necessary implication upon the nonexistence of the right claimed. Such a determination of the disputed question would be as much exempt from the jurisdiction of his Court to grant relief against infringement of a fundamental right under Art. 19, as a determination of the disputed question between the parties on merits or on procedure. [803 C-D,; F-H] Per Bachawat J. : The law empowering the High Court to restrain the publication of the report of its proceedings does not infringe Art. 19(1) (a), because it affects the freedom of speech only incidentally and indirectly. [808 G, H] A.K. Gopalan v. Stare of Madras, [1950] S.C.R. 88 and Ram Singh v. State, [1951] S.C.R. 451, followed.
Per Hidayatullah J.(dissenting ) : The order commits a breach of the fundamental right of freedom of speech and expression. [789 E; 792 A) The Chapter on Fundamental Rights indicates that Judges acting in their judicial capacity were not intended to be outside the reach of fundamental rights. The word "State" in Arts. 12 and 13 includes "Courts" because. otherwise courts will be enabled to make rules which take away or abridge fundamental rights. and a judicial decision based on such a rule would also offend fundamental rights. A Judge ordinarily decides controversies between the parties, in which controversies he does not figure, but occasion may arise collaterally where the matter may be between the Judge and the fundamental rights of any Person by reason of the Judge's action. [789 G-H; 790 A-B; 791 C] Prem Chand Garg V. The Excise Commissioner, [1963] Supp. 1 S.C.R. 885, referred to.
(iii)(Per Gajendmgadkar C.T., Wanchoo, Mudholkar, Sikri and Ramaswami,JJ.) : The High Court is a superior court of Record and it is for itto consider whether any matter falls within its jurisdiction or 747 not. The order is a judicial order and if it is erroneous a person aggrieved by it, though a stranger, could move this Court under Art. 136 and the order can be corrected in appeal; but the question about the existence of the said jurisdiction as well as the validity or propriety of the order cannot be raised in writ proceedings under Art. 32.
[770 H; 772 EJ Ujjam Bai v. State, [1963] 1 S.C.R. 778, referred to.
Prem Chand Garg v. Excise Commissioner, U.P. [1963] Supp. I S.C.R. 885, explained.
Per Sarkar J. : This Court has no power to issue a certiorari to the High Court. [782 H] When the High Court has the power to issue the writ of certiorari, it is not, according to the fundamental principles of certiorari an inferior court or a court of limited jurisdiction. The Constitution does not contemplate the High Courts to be inferior courts so that their decisions would be liable to be quashed by a writ of certiorari issued by the Supreme Court. [782 F-H] Per Shah, J : In the matter of issue of a writ of certiorari against the order of any Court, in the context of the infringement of Fundament rights, even orders made by subordinate , such as the District Court or of subordinate Judge, are as much exempt from challenge in enforcement of an alleged fundamental right under Art. 19 by a petition under Art. 32 as orders of the High Court which is a superior Court of Record. It is not necessary to decide for the purpose of these petitions whether an order made by a High Court may infringe any of the rights guaranteed by Arts. 20, 21 & 22(1) and may on that account form the subject-matter of a petition under Art. 32. Art. 19, on the one hand and Arts. 20, 21 & 22(1) are differently worded.
Art. 19 protects personal freedoms of citizens against state action except where the 'action falls within the exceptions.
Arts. 20, 21 & 22 impose direct restrictions upon the power of authorities. [805 E-F; 806 C; 807 A, B; 808 A-B] Per Bachawat J. : The High Court has jurisdiction to decide if it could restrain the publication of any document or information relating to the trial of a pending suit or concerning which the suit is brought. If it erroneously assumes a jurisdiction not vested in it, its decision may be set aside in appropriate proceedings, but the decision is not open to attack under Art. 32 on the ground that it infringes the fundamental right under Art. 19(1)(a). If a stranger is prejudiced by an order forbidding the publication of the report of any proceeding, his proper course is only to apply to the Court to lift the ban. [808 F; 810 A-B] Per Hidayatullah J. (dissenting) : Even assuming the impugned order means a temporary suppression of the evidence of the witness the trial Judge had no jurisdiction to pass the order. As he passed no recorded order the appropriate remedy (in fact the only effective remedy) is to seek to quash The order by a writ under Art. 32. [792 E-F; 801 E] There may be action by a Judge which may offend the fundamental rights under Arts. 14, 15, 19, 20, 21 and 22 and an appeal to this Court will not only be not practicable but will also be an ineffective remedy and this Court can issue a writ to the High Court to quash its order, under Art. 32 of the Constitution. Since them is no exception in Art. 32 in of the High Court’s there is a presumption that the High Court are not excluded. Even with the enactment of Art. 226 the power which is conferred on the High Court’s is not in every sense a coordinate and the implication of reading Arts. 32, 136 and 226 together is 748 that there is no sharing of the powers to issue the prerogative writs processed by this Court. Under the total scheme of the Constitution the subordination of the High Courts to the Supreme Court is not only evident but is, logical. [794F; 797 G-H; 799 D-E]
ORIGINAL JURISDICTION : W.Ps. Nos. 5 and 7 to 9 of 1965.
Petition under Art. 32 of the Constitution of India for the enforcement of Fundamental Rights.
M. C. Setalvad, R. K. Garg, R. C. Agarwal, D. P. Singh and M. K. Ramamurthi, for petitioner (in W.P. No. 5 of 1965).
A.K. Sen, R. K. Garg, S. C. Agrawal, D. P. Singh and M. K. Ramamurthi, for the petitioner (in W.P. No. 7 of 1965).
V.K. Krishna Menon, R. K. Garg, S. C. Agrawal, D. P. Singh and M. K. Ramamurthi, for the petitioner (in W.P. No. 8 of 1965).
N. C. Chatterjee, R. K. Garg, S. C. Agrawal, D. P. Singh, and M. K. Ramamurthi, for the petitioners (in W. P. No. 9 of 1965).
C. K. Daphtary, Attorney-General, B. R. L. Iyengar and B. R. G. K. Achar, for the respondents (in all the petitions).
The Judgment of GAJFNDRAGADKAR C.J., WANCHOO, MUDHOLKAR, SIKRI and RAMASWAMI, JJ. was delivered by GAJENDRA-GADKAR C.J. SARKAR, SHAH and BACHAWAT JJ. delivered separate Opinions. HIDAYATULLAH, J. delivered a dissenting Opinion.
Gajendragadkar, C.J. The petitioner in Writ Petition No. 5 of 1965--Naresh Shridhar Mirajkar, who is a citizen of India, serves as a Reporter on the Staff of the English Weekly "Blitz", published in Bombay and edited by Mr. R. K.
Karanjia. It appears that Mr. Krishnaraj M. D. Thackersey sued Mr. R. K. Karanjia (Suit No. 319 of 1960) on the Original Side of the Bombay High Court, and claimed Rs. 3 lakhs by way of damages for alleged malicious libel published in the Blitz on the 24th September, 1960, under the caption "Scandal Bigger Than Mundhra". This suit was tried by Mr. Justice Tarkunde.
One of the allegations which had been made in the said article was to the effect that China Cotton Exporters, of which Mr. Thackersey was a partner, had obtained licences for import of art silk yarn on condition that the same would be sold to handloom weavers only; and that in order to sell the said silk yarn in the black market with a view to realise higher profits, three bogus handloom factories were created on paper and bills and invoices were made with a view to create the impression that the condition on which the, licences had been granted to China Cotton Exporters, had been complied with. Mr. Thackersey's concern had thus sold the said yarn in the black-market and thereby concealed from taxation' 749 the large profits made in that behalf. These allegations purported to be based on the papers filed in Suits Nos. 997 and 998 of 1951 which had been instituted by China Cotton Exporters against National Handloom Weaving Works, Rayon Handloom Industries, and one Bhaichand G. Goda. The said Bhaichand G. Goda was alleged to have been the guarantor in respect of the transactions mentioned in the said suits.
The said Bhaichand Goda had, in the course of insolvency proceedings which had been taken out in execution of the decrees passed against him, made an affidavit which seemed to support the main points of the allegations made by the Blitz in its article "Scandal Bigger Than Mundhra".
During the course of the trial, the said Bhaichand Goda was called as a defence witness by Mr. Karanjia. In the witness-box, Mr. Goda feigned complete ignorance of the said transactions; and under protection given to him by the learned Judge who was trying the action, he repudiated every one of the allegations he had made against Mr. Thackersey's concern in the said affidavit. Thereupon, Mr. Karanjia applied for permission to cross-examine Mr. Goda and the said permission was granted by the learned Judge.
Accordingly, Mr. Goda came to be cross-examined by Mr. Karanjia's counsel.
Later, during the course of further proceedings, it was discovered that Mr. Goda had made several statements before the Income-tax authorities in which he had reiterated some of the statements made by him in his affidavit on which he was cross examined. From the said statements it also appeared that he had alleged that in addition to the invoice price of the transactions in question, he had paid Rs. 90,000/as "on money" to China Cotton Exporters. As a result of the discovery of this material, an application was made by Mr. Karanjia before the learned Judge for permission to recall Mr. Goda and confront him with the statements which he had made before the Income-tax authorities. The learned Judge granted the said application.
On Friday, the 23rd October, 1964, Mr. Goda stepped. into the witness-box in pursuance of the order passed by the learned Judge that he should be recalled for further examination. On that occasion he moved the learned Judge that the latter should protect him against his evidence being reported in the press. He stated that the publication in the press of his earlier evidence had caused loss to him in business; and so, he desired that the evidence which he had been recalled to give should not be published in the papers. When this request was made by Mr. Goda, arguments were addressed before the learned Judge and he orally directed that the evidence of Mr. Goda should not be published. It was pointed out to the learned Judge that the daily press, viz., 'The Times of India' and 750 'The Indian Express' gave only brief accounts of the proceedings before the Court in that case, whereas the 'Blitz' gave a full report of the said proceedings. The learned Judge then told Mr. Zaveri, Counsel for Mr. Karanjia that the petitioner who was one of the reporters of the 'Blitz' should be told not to publish reports of Mr. Goda's evidence in the 'Blitz'. The petitioner had all along been reporting the proceedings in the said suit in the columns of the 'Blitz'.
On Monday, the 26th October, 1964, Mr. Chari appeared for Mr. Karanjia and urged before the learned Judge that the fundamental principle in the administration of justice was that it must be open to the public and that exceptions to such public administration of justice were rare, such as that of a case where a child is a victim of a sexual offence, or of a case relating to matrimonial matters where sordid details of intimate relations between spouses are likely to come out, and proceedings in regard to official secrecy. Mr. Chari further contended that no witness could claim protection from publicity on the ground that if the evidence is published it might adversely affect his business. Mr. Chari, therefore, challenged the correctness of the said order and alternatively suggested to the learned Judge that he should pass a written order forbidding publication of Mr. Goda's evidence. The learned Judge, however, rejected Mr. Chari's contentions and stated that he had already made an oral order forbidding such publication, and that no written order was necessary. He added that he expected that his oral order would be obeyed.
The petitioner felt aggrieved by the said oral order passed by Mr. Justice Tarkunde and moved the Bombay High Court by a Writ Petition No. 1685 of 1964 under Art. 226 of the Constitution. The said petition was, however, dismissed by a Division Bench of the said High Court on the 10th November, 1964 on the ground that the impugned order was a judicial order of the High Court and was not amenable to a writ under Art. 226. That is how the petitioner has moved this Court under Art. 32 for the enforcement of his fundamental rights under Art. 19(1)(a) and (g) of the Constitution.
Along with this petition, three other petitions have been filed in this Court; they are Writ Petitions Nos. 7 , 8 and 9 of 1965. Mr. P. R. Menon, Mr. M. P. Iyer, and Mr. P. K. Atre, the three petitioners in these petitions respectively, are Journalists, and they have also challenged the validity of the impugned order and have moved this Court under Art.
32 of the Constitution for enforcement of their fundamental rights under Art. 19(1)(a) and (g). It appears. that these three petitioners were present in court at the time when the impugned order was passed and they were directed not to.
publish the evidence given by Mr. Goda in their respective papers.
751 All the petitioners challenge the validity of the impugned order on several grounds. They urge that the fundamental rights of citizens guaranteed by Art. 19(1) are absolute,' except to the extent that they are restricted by reasonable restrictions imposed by law within the limitations prescribed by clauses (2) to (6) of Art. 19. According to them, it is doubtful whether even the Indian Legislatures have the power to ban publication of faithful reports of proceedings in the Legislatures, much less can the courts have power to ban such publication. They also allege that a restriction imposed in the interests of the witness cannot be held to be justified under Art. 19(2), and that in passing the impugned order, the learned Judge had exceeded his jurisdiction. It is plain that the basic assumption on which the petitions are founded, is that the impugned order infringes their fundamental rights under Art. 19(1) and that it is not saved by any of the provisions contained in clauses (2) to (6). To these petitions, the State of Maharashtra and Bhaichand Goda have been impleaded as respondents I and 2 respectively.
Respondent No. I has disputed the correctness and the validity of the contentions raised by the petitioners in support of their petitions under Art. 32. In regard to factual matters set out in the petitions, respondent No. I has naturally no personal knowledge; but for the purpose of these petitions, it is prepared to assume that the facts alleged in the said petitions are correct. According to respondent No. 1, the impugned order was passed by the learned Judge in exercise of his general and inherent powers and he was justified in making such an order, because in his opinion, the excessive publicity attendant upon the publication of Mr. Goda's evidence would have caused annoyance to the witness or the parties, and might have led to failure of justice. It urges that it is for the Judge trying the suit to consider whether in the interests of the administration of justice, such publication should be banned or not. According to respondent No. 1, the impugned order cannot be said to affect the petitioners' fundamental rights under Art. 19(1); and that even otherwise, it is protected under Art. 19(2). Respondent No. I also contends that the High Court being a superior Court of Record, is entitled to determine questions of its own jurisdiction; and orders like the impugned order passed by the High Court in exercise of its inherent jurisdiction are not amenable to the writ jurisdiction of this Court under Art. 32(2) of the Constitution. That, broadly stated, is the nature of the allegations made by the respective parties in the present proceedings.
At the hearing of these petitions, the arguments advanced before us on both the sides have covered a very large field.
It has been urged by Mr. Setalvad who argued the case of the petitioner in Writ Petition No. 5 of 1965, that Art. 32(1) is very wide in its sweep and no attempt should be made to limit or circumscribe its scope and width. The right conferred on the citizens of this country by 752 Art. 32(1) is itself a fundamental right; and so, he argues that as soon as it is shown that the impugned order has contravened his fundamental rights under Art. 19(1), the petitioner is entitled, as a matter of guaranteed constitutional right, to move this Court under Art. 32. Mr. Setalvad also urges that the extent of the jurisdiction of this Court to issue a writ of certiorari must be determined in the light of the width of the guaranteed right conferred on the citizens by Art. 32(1). The power to issue writs conferred on this Court by Art. 32(2) is a very wide power, and it includes the power to issue not only the writs therein specified, but also directions or orders in the nature of the said specified writs. The test in exercising the power under Art. 32(2) inevitably has to be: if the fundamental right of a citizen has been breached, which is the appropriate writ, direction, or order that should issue to remedy the said breach? According to Mr. Setalvad, the fundamental rights guaranteed to the citizens by Part III are very wide in their scope;
and the right to move this Court by an aggrieved citizen is not limited to his right to move only against the Legislature or the Executive. If an individual citizen contravenes the fundamental rights of another citizen, the aggrieved citizen can, according to Mr. Setalvad, move this Court for an appropriate writ under Art. 32(1) & (2). As illustrations supporting this proposition, Mr. Setalvad referred us to the fundamental rights guaranteed by Articles 17, 23 and 24. Article 17 abolishes 'untouchability'. If in spite of the abolition of 'untouchability' by constitutional provision included in Part III, any private shop-keeper, for instance, purports to enforce untouchability against a Harijan citizen, the said citizen would be entitled to move this Court for a proper order under Art. 32(1) & (2). Similar is the position in regard to fundamental rights guaranteed by Articles 23 and 24.
Art. 23 prohibits traffic in human beings and forced labour, whereas Art. 24 prohibits employment of children to work in any factory or mine or their engagement in any other hazardous employment.
In regard to judicial orders passed by courts, Mr. Setalvad says that the said orders cannot claim immunity from being challenged under Art. 32, because some of the fundamental rights guaranteed are clearly directed against courts. In support of this contention, he relies on the fundamental rights guaranteed by Art. 20(1) & (2), Art. 21, and Art.
22(1). These Articles refer to protection in respect of conviction for offences, protection of life and personal liberty, and protection against arrest and detention in certain cases, respectively. Read Art. 32(1) and (2) together in this broad perspective, says Mr. Setalvad, and it would follow that if a judicial order contravenes the fundamental rights of the citizen under Art. 19(1), he must be held entitled to move this Court under Art. 32(1) and (2).
753 On the other hand, the learned Attorney-General contends that the scope of Art. 32(1) is not as wide as Mr. Setalvad suggests. He argues that in determining the scope and width of the fundamentals rights guaranteed by Part 111, with a view to decide the extent of the fundamental right guaranteed by Art. 32(1), it is necessary to bear, in mind the definition prescribed by Art. 12. Under Art. 12, according to the learned Attorney-General, "the State" includes the: Government and Parliament of India and the Government and the Legislature of each of the States and all local or other authorities within the territory of India or under the control of the Government of India. He elaborated his point by suggesting that the reference to the Government and Parliament of India and the Government and the Legislature of each of the States specifically emphasises the fact that the Judicature is intended to be excluded from the said definition. He argues that the fundamental rights guaranteed by Articles 17, 23 and 24 on which Mr. Setalvad relies, are, no doubt, of paramount importance; but before a citizen can be permitted to move this Court under Art. 32(1) for infringement of the said rights, it must be shown that the said rights have been; made enforceable by appropriate legislative enactments. In regard to Articles 20, 21 and 22, his argument is that the protection guaranteed by the said Articles is intended to be available against theLegislature and the Executive, not against courts. That is how he seeks to take judicial orders completely out of the scope of Art. 32(1) According to him, private rights, though fundamental in character,, cannot be enforced against individual citizens under Art. 32(1).
We have referred to these respective arguments just to indicate the extent of the field which has been covered by learned counsel who assisted us in dealing with the present petitions. As this Court has frequently emphasised, in dealing with constitutional matters, it is necessary that the decision of the Court should be confined to the narrow Points which a particular proceeding raises it. Often enough, in dealing with the very narrow point raised by a writ petition, wider arguments are urged before the Court;
but the Court should always be careful not to cover ground which is strictly not relevant for the purpose of deciding the petition before it. Obiter observations and discussion of problems not ,directly involved in any proceeding should be avoided by courts in dealing with all matters brought before them; but this requirement becomes almost compulsive when the Court is dealing with constitutional matters. That is Why we do not propose to deal with the larger issues raised by the learned counsel in the present proceedings, and we wish to confine our decision to the narrow points which these petitions raise.
Let us, therefore, indicate clearly the scope of the enquiry in the present proceedings. The impugned order has been passed by the learned Judge in the course of the trial of a suit before him after 754 hearing the parties; and having regard to the circumstances under which the said order was passed, and the reasons on which it is presumably based, we are inclined to hold that what the order purports to do is to prohibit the publication of Mr. Goda's evidence in the Press during the progress of the trial of the suit. We do not read this order as imposing a permanent ban on the publication of the said evidence.
On these facts, the question which arises for our decision is whether a judicial order passed by the High Court prohibiting the publication in newspapers of evidence given by a witness pending the hearing of the suit, is amenable to be corrected by a writ of certiorari issued by this Court under Art. 32(2). This question has two broad facets; does the impugned order violate the fundamental rights of the petitioners under Art. 19(1)(a), (d) and (g); and if it does, is it amenable to the writ jurisdiction of this Court under Art. 32(2)? Thus, in the present proceedings, we will limit our discussion and decision to the points which have a material bearing on the broad problem posed by the petitions before us.
Let us begin by assuming that the petitioners who are Journalists, have a fundamental right to carry on their occupation under Art. 19(1)(g); they have also a right to attend proceedings in court under Art. 19(1)(d); and that the right to freedom of speech and .expression guaranteed by Art. 19(1) (a) includes their right to publish as Journalists a faithful report of the proceedings which they have witnessed and heard in court. In Sakal Papers (P) Ltd., and Others v. The Union of India' , it has been held by this Court that the freedom of speech and expression guaranteed by Art. 19(1)(a) .includes the freedom of press.
That being so, the question which we have to consider is:
does the impugned order contravene the petitioners' fundamental rights to which we have just referred? Before dealing with this question, it is necessary to refer to one incidental aspect of the matter. It is well-settled that in general, all cases brought before the Courts, whether civil, criminal, or others, must be heard in open Court. Public trial in open court is undoubtedly essential for the healthy, objective and fair administration of justice. Trial held subject to the public scrutiny and gaze naturally acts as a check against judicial caprice or vagaries, and serves as a powerful instrument for creating confidence of the public in the fairness, objectivity, and impartiality of the administration of justice. Public confidence in the administration of justice is of such great significance that there can be no two opinions on the broad proposition that in discharging their functions as judicial Tribunals, courts must generally hear causes in open and must permit the public admission to the court-room. As Bentham has observed:
(1) [1962] 3 S. C. R. 842.
755 .lm15 "In the darkness of secrecy sinister interest, and evil in every shape, have full swing. Only in proportion as publicity has place can any of the checks applicable to judicial injustice operate. Where there is no publicity there is no justice. Publicity is the very soul of justice.
It is the keenest spur to exertion, and surest of all guards against improbity. It keeps the Judge himself while trying under trial (in the sense that) the security of securities is publicity". (Scott v. Scot(1) Having thus enunciated the universally accepted proposition in favour of open trials, it is necessary to consider whether this rule admits of any exceptions or not. Cases may occur where the requirement of the administration of justice itself may make it necessary for the court to hold a trial in camera. While emphasising the importance of public trial, we cannot overlook the fact that the primary function of the Judiciary is to do justice between the parties who bring their causes before it. If a Judge trying a cause is satisfied that the very purpose of finding truth in the case would be retarded, or even defeated if witnesses are required to give evidence subject to public gaze, is it or is it not open to him in exercise of his inherent power to hold the trial in camera either partly or fully ? If the primary function of the court is to do justice in causes brought before it, then on principle, it is difficult to accede to the proposition that there can be no exception to the rule that all causes must be tried in open court. If the principle that all trials before courts must be held in puplic was treated as inflexible and universal and it is held that it admits of no exceptions whatever, cases may arise where by following the principle, justice itself may be defeated. That is why we feel no hesitation in holding that the High Court has inherent jurisdiction to hold a trial in camera if the ends of justice clearly and necessarily require the adoption of such a course. Er It is hardly necessary to emphasise that this inherent power must be exercised with great caution and it is only if the court is satisfied beyond a doubt that the ends of justice themselves would be defeated if a case is tried in open court that it can pass an order to hold the trial in camera;
but to deny the existence of such inherent power to the court would be to ignore the primary object of adjudication itself The principle underlying the insistence on hearing causes in open court is to protect and assist fair, impartial and objective administration of justice; but if the requirement of justice itself sometimes dictates the necessity of trying the case in camera, it cannot be said that the said requirement should be sacrificed because of the principle that every trial must be held in open court.
In this connection it is essential to remember that public trial of causes is a means, though important and valuable, to ensure fair administration of justice; it is a means, not an end. It is the fair administration of (1) [1911] All E.R. 1, 30.
756 justice which is the end of judicial process, and so, if ever a real conflict arises between fair administration of justice itself on the one hand, and public trial on the other, inevitably, public trial may have to be regulated or controlled in the interest of administration of justice.
That, in our opinion, is the rational basis on which the conflict of this kind must be harmoniously resolved.
Whether or not in the present case such a conflict did in fact arise, and whether or not the impugned order is justified on the merits, are matters which are irrelevant to the present enquiry.
Whilst we are dealing with this question , it would be useful to refer to the decision of the House of Lords in Scott v. Scott.[ In that case a Judge of the Divorce Court had made an order that a petition for a decree of nullity of marriage should be heard in camera, but after the conclusion of the proceedings, one of the parties published to third parties a transcript of the evidence given at the hearing of the suit; and the question which arose for decision was whether by such publication, the party concerned had committed contempt. The House of Lords held that assuming that the order for hearing the case in camera was valid, it was not effective to enjoin perpetual silence on all persons with regard to what took place at the hearing of the suit, and, therefore, the party publishing the evidence was not guilty of contempt of Court.
Dealing with the question about the power of an ordinary court of justice to hear in private, Viscount Haldane, L.C., observed that whatever may have been the power of the ecclesiastical courts, the power of an ordinary court of justice to hear in private cannot rest merely on the discretion of the Judge or on his individual view that it is desirable for the sake of public decency or morality that the hearing should take place in private. If there is any except-ion to the broad principle which requires the administration of justice to take place in open court, that exception must be based on the application of some other and over-riding principle which defines the field of exception and does not leave its limits to the individual discretion of the Judge.
Looking at the problem from another point of view, Viscount Haldane, L.C. observed that while the broad principle is that the courts of this country must, as between parties, administer justice in public, this principle is subject to apparent exceptions. By way of illustration, reference was made to two cases of wards of court and of lunatics where the court is really sitting primarily to guard the interest of the ward or the lunatic. In such matters, the jurisdiction of the court was in a sense, parental and administrative. That is how the broad principle which ordinarily governs open public trial, yields to the paramount duty which is the care of the ward or the lunatic.
Similarly, in regard to litigation as (1) [1911] All E.R . 1.
757 to a secret process, where the effect of publicity would be to destroy the subject-matter, trial in camera would be justified, because in such a case, justice could not be done at all if it had to be done in public.(1) In other words, unless it be strictly necessary for the attainment of justice, there can be no power in the court to hear in camera either a matrimonial cause or any other where there is a contest between parties. He who maintains that by no other means than by such a hearing can justice be done may apply. for an unusual procedure. But he must make out his case strictly, and bring it up to the standard which the underlying principle requires. He may be able to show that the evidence can be effectively brought before the court in no other fashion. In either case, he must satisfy the court that by nothing short of the exclusion of the public can justice be done It would thus be noticed that according to Viscount Haldane, L.C., though it is of the essence of fair and impartial administration of justice that all causes must be tried in open court, cases may arise where the court may be satisfied that evidence can be effectively brought before it only if the trial is held in camera; and in such cases, in order to discharge its paramount duty to administer justice, the court may feel compelled to order a trial in camera.
The same principle has been enunciated by the other Law Lords, though they have differed in their approach as well as in their emphasis. We do not propose to refer to the statements made in the speeches of the other Law Lords, because it is clear that on the whole, the principles laid down by Viscount Haldane, L.C., appear to have received general approval from the other Law Lords. There are, no doubt, certain observations in the speeches of some Law Lords which seem to suggest that there would be no power in the court to hear a case in camera, except in the recognised cases of exceptional character to which Viscount Haldane referred. Lord Shaw, for instance, observed that "I am of opinion that the order to hear this case in camera was beyond the power of the Judge to pronounce. I am further of opinion that, even on the assumption that such an order had been within his power, it was beyond his power to impose a suppression of all reports of what passed at the trial after the trial had come to an end".(p. 29). It must be remembered that the order with which the House of Lords was dealing, had imposed a perpetual prohibition against the publication of the proceedings in court; and naturally, there was unanimity in the view expressed by the House of Lords that such a drastic order was not justified. That is why the conclusion of the House of Lords was that by publishing the proceedings at the end of the trial, the party concerned had not committed contempt of court. It would thus be clear from the decision of the House of (1)[1911] All E.R. pp. 8-9.
758 Lords in Scott v. Scott(1) that courts of justice have no power to hear cases in camera even by consent of the parties, except in special cases in which a hearing in open court might defeat the ends of justice. Therefore, as a bare proposition of law, it would be difficult to accede to the argument urged by the petitioners before us that the High Court had no jurisdiction to pass the impugned order.
This question has been considered by English Courts on several occasions. In Moosbrugger v. Moosbrugger and Moosbrugger v. Moosbrugger and Martin,(2) where in a divorce proceeding it, was urged before the President that if the case was heard in public, it would become almost impossible for the lady to give her evidence and in that case justice would or might be defeated, on being satisfied that the plea thus made on behalf of the witness was well-founded, the President directed that the evidence of the witness shall be that recorded in camera. The Court was thereupon cleared and the witness gave evidence in camera. It is significant that the case had been opened in public and was being tried in public; only a part of the trial was, however, held in camera, because the President was satisfied that unless the witness was allowed to depose in camera, she would not be able to disclose the whole truth.
Similarly, in Re Green (a bankrupt), Ex Parte The Trustee,(3) Jenkins, L.J., was moved to hear a bankruptcy petition in camera. After hearing arguments, he was satisfied that the interests of justice required that the application for hearing the case in camera wag justified.
Accordingly the application was heard in camera.
We have referred to these decisions by way of illustration to emphasise the point that it would be unreasonable to hold that a court must hear every case in public even though it is satisfied that the ends of justice themselves would be defeated by such public trial. The overriding consideration which must determine. the conduct of proceedings before a court is fair administration of justice. Indeed, the principle that all cases must be tried in public is really and ultimately based on the view that it is such public trial of cases that assists the fair and impartial administration of justice. The administration of justice is thus the primary object of the work done in courts; and so, if there is a conflict between the claims of administration of justice itself and those of public trial, public trial must yield to administration of justice. In none of the cases to which we have referred was it expressly held that the court does not possess inherent jurisdiction to hold a trial in camera if it is satisfied that the ends of justice required the adoption of such a course.
(1) [1911] All. E. R. pp. 8-9.
(2) (1912-13) 29 T.L.R. 658.
(3)[1958] 2 All E. R. 57 759 If the High Court thus had inherent power to hold the trial of a case in camera, provided, of course, it was satisfied that the ends of justice required such a course to be adopted, it would not be difficult to accept the argument urged by the learned Attorney General that the power to hold a trial in camera must include the power to hold a part of the trial in camera, or to prohibit excessive publication of a part of the proceedings at such trial. What would meet the ends of justice will always depend upon the facts of each case and the requirements of justice. In a certain case, the Court may feel that the trial may continue to be a public trial, but that the evidence of a particular witness need not receive excessive publicity, because fear of such excessive publicity may prevent the witness from speaking the truth. That being so, we are unable to hold that the High Court did not possess inherent jurisdiction to pass the impugned order. We have already indicated that the impugned order, in our opinion, prevented the publication of Mr. Goda's evidence during the course of the trial and not thereafter.
Before we part with this topic, we would like to refer to certain statutory provisions which specifically deal with the topic of holding trials in camera.
Section 53 of Act 4 of 1869 which was passed to amend the law relating to Divorce and Matrimonial Causes in India provides that the whole or any part of any proceeding under this Act may be heard, if the Court thinks fit, with closed doors.
Similarly, section 14 of the Indian Official Secrets Act, 1923 (No. 19 of 1923) provides that in addition and without prejudice to any powers which a Court may possess to order the exclusion of the public from any proceedings if, in the course of proceedings before a Court against any person for an offence under this Act or the proceedings on appeal, or in the course of the trial of a person under this Act, application is made by the prosecution, on the ground that the publication of any evidence to be given or of any statement to be made in the course of the proceedings would be prejudicial to the safety of the State, that all or any portion of the public shall be excluded during any part of the hearing, the Court may make an order to that effect, but the passing of sentence shall in any case take place in public. It would be noticed that while making a specific provision authorising the court to exclude all or any portion of the public from a trial, s.14 in terms recognises the existence of such inherent powers by its opening clause.
Section 22(1) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 (No. 25 of 1955) likewise lays down that a proceeding under this Act shall be /conducted in camera if either party so desires or if the court so, thinks fit to do, and it shall not be lawful for any person to print or 740 publish any matter in relation to any such proceeding except with the previous permission of the court.
The proviso to s. 352 of the Code of Criminal Procedure , 1898, prescribes that the presiding Judge or Magistrate may, if he thinks fit, order at any stage of any inquiry into, or trial of, any particular case, that the public generally, or any particular person, shall not have access to, or be or remain in the room or building used by the Court.
The last provision to which we may refer in this connection is s. 151 of the Code of Civil Procedure , 1908. This section provides that nothing in this Code shall be deemed to limit or otherwise affect the inherent power of the Court to make such orders as may be necessary for the ends of justice or to prevent abuse of the process of the Court.
These statutory provisions merely illustrate how the power of the Court to hold certain trials in camera, either fully or partially, is inevitably associated with the administration of justice itself.
The next question which calls for our decision is: does the impugned order contravene the fundamental rights of the petitioners under Art. 19(1) ? In dealing with this question, it is essential to bear in mind the object with which the impugned order has been passed. As we have already indicated, the impugned order has been passed, because the learned Judge was satisfied that the interests of justice required that Mr. Goda should not be exposed to the risk of excessive publicity of the evidence that he would give in court. This order was passed by the learned Judge after hearing arguments from both the parties to the suit. Thus, there is no doubt that the learned Judge was satisfied that in order to be able to do justice between the parties before him, it was ,essential to grant Mr. Goda's request for prohibiting the publication of his testimony in the newspapers from day to day. The question is: can it be said that an order which has been passed directly and solely for the purpose of assisting the discovery of truth and for doing justice between the parties, infringes the fundamental rights of the petitioners under Art. 19(1) ? The argument that the impugned order affects the fundamental rights of the petitioners under Art. 19(1), is based on a complete misconception about the true nature and character of judicial process and of judicial decisions. When a Judge deals with matters brought before him for his adjudication, he first decides questions ,of fact on which the parties are at issue, and then applies the relevant law to the said facts. Whether the findings of fact recorded by the Judge are right or wrong, and whether the conclusion of law drawn by him suffers from any infirmity, can be considered and decided if the party aggrieved by the decision of the Judge takes the 761 matter up before the appellate Court. But it is singularly inappropriate to assume that a judicial decision pronounced by a Judge of competent jurisdiction in or in relation to a matter brought before him for adjudication can affect the fundamental rights of the citizens under Art. 19(1). What the judicial decision purports to do is to decide the controversy between the parties brought before the court and nothing more. If this basic and essential aspect of the judicial process is borne in mind, it would be plain that the judicial verdict pronounced by court in or in relation to a matter brought before it for its decision cannot be said to affect the fundamental rights of citizens under Art.
19(1).
The impugned order is, in a sense, an order of a collateral nature; it has no direct relation with the decision of the dispute which had been brought before the Court in the proceedings between the parties. The learned Judge however, thought that in order that he should be able to do full justice between the parties it was necessary to pass the impugned order. Thus, though the order in a sense is collateral to the proceedings which were pending before the Court, it was directly connected with the said proceedings inasmuch as the learned Judge found that he could not do justice between the parties and decide the matter satisfactorily unless the publication of Mr. Goda's evidence was prohibited pending the trial. The order is not collateral in the sense that the jurisdiction of the Judge to pass that order can be challenged otherwise than by a proceeding in appeal. Just as an order passed by the court on the merits of the dispute before it can be challenged only in appeal and cannot be said to contravene the fundamental rights of the litigants before the Court, so could the impugned order be challenged in appeal under Art.
136 of the Constitution, but it cannot be said to affect the fundamental rights of the petitioners. The character of the judicial order remains the same whether it is passed in a matter directly in issue between the parties, or is passed incidentally to make the adjudication of the dispute between the parties fair and effective. On this view of the matter, it seems to us that the whole attack against the impugned order based on the assumption that it infringes the petitioners' fundamental rights under Art. 19(1), must fail.
Assuming, however, that the impugned order can be said incidentally and indirectly to affect the fundamental rights of the petitioners under Art. 19(1), can such incidental and indirect effect of the order justify the conclusion that the order itself infringes Art. 19(1) ? It is well-settled that in examining the validity of legislation, it is legitimate to consider whether the impugned legislation is a legislation directly in respect of the subject covered by any particular article of the Constitution, or touches the said article only incidentally 762 or indirectly. In A.K. Gopalan v. The State of Madras(1), Kania C. J., had occasion to consider the validity of the argument -that the preventive detention order results in the detention of the applicant in a cell, and so, it contravenes his fundamental rights guaranteed by Art. 19(1) (a), (b), (c), (d), (e) and (g). Rejecting this argument, the learned Chief Justice observed that the true approach in dealing with such a question is only to consider the directness of the legislation and not what will be the result of the detention otherwise valid, on the mode of the detenu's life.
On that ground alone, he was inclined to reject the contention that the order of detention contravened the fundamental rights guaranteed to the petitioner under Art.
19(1). He thought that any other construction put on the article would be unreasonable.
It is true that the opinion thus expressed by Kania, C. J., in the case of A. K Gopalan(1) had not received the concurrence of the other learned Judges who heard the said case. Subsequently, however, in Ram Singh and Others v. The State of Delhi and Another(2), the said observations were cited with approval by the Full Court. The same principle has been accepted by this Court in Express Newspapers (Private) Ltd., and Anr. v. The Union of India and Others(1), and by the majority judgment in Atiabari Tea Co., Ltd. v. The State of Assam and Others(4).
If the test of direct effect and object which is sometimes described as the pith and substance test, is thus applied in considering the validity of legislation, it would not be inappropriate to apply the same test to judicial decisions like the one with which we are concerned in the present proceedings. As we have already indicated, the impugned order was directly concerned with giving such protection to the witness as was thought to be necessary in order to obtain true evidence in the case with a view to do justice between the parties. If, incidentally, as a result of this order, the petitioners were not able to report what they heard in court, that cannot be said to make the impugned order invalid under Art. 19 (1)(a). It is a judicial order passed by the Court in exercise of it-, inherent jurisdiction and its sole purpose is to help the administration of justice. Any incidental consequence which may flow from the order will not introduce any constitutional infirmity in it.
It is, however, urged by Mr. Setalvad that this Court has held in Budhan Choudhry and Others v. The State of Bihar(5) that judicial orders based on exercise of judicial discretion may contravene Art. 14 and thereby become invalid. He contends that just as a judicial order would become invalid by reason of the fact (1) [1950] S.C.R. 88, 101.
(2) [1951] S.C.R.451, 456.
(3) [1959] S.C.R. 12,129,130.
(4) [1961] 1 S.C.R. 809,864.
(5)[1955] 1 S.(-.R. 1045.
763 that it infringes the fundamental right guaranteed by Art.
14, so would the impugned order in the present case be invalid because it contravenes Art. 19(1). It is, therefore, necessary to examine whether this contention is well-founded.
In the case of Budhan Choudhry(1), the matter had come to this Court by way of appeal under Art. 132(1) of the Constitution. The appellants had been tried by a Magistrate, 1st Class, exercising powers under s. 30 of the Code of Criminal Procedure on charges under ss. 366 and 143 of the Indian Penal Code , and each one of them was convicted under both the sections and sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for five years under s. 366, whereas no separate sentence was imposed under s. 143. They then challenged the correctness and validity of the order of their conviction and sentence by preferring anappeal before the Patna High Court. The appeal was first heard by a Bench consisting of S. K. Das and C. P. Sinha, JJ. There was, however, a difference of opinion between the two learned Judges as to the constitutionality of s. 30, Cr.
P.C. Das, J. took the view that the impugned section did not bring about any discrimination, whereas Sinha, J. was of the opinion that the impugned section was hit by Art, 14. The appeal was then heard by Reuben, C. J., who agreed with Das, J., with the result that the order of conviction and sentence passed against the appellants was confirmed. The appellants then obtained a certificate from the said High Court under Art. 132 (1) and with that certificate they came to this Court.
Naturally, the principal contention which was urged on their behalf before this Court was that s. 30, Cr.P.C. infringed the fundamental right guaranteed by Art. 14, and was, therefore, invalid. This contention was repelled by this Court. Then, alternatively, the appellants argued that though the section itself may not be discriminatory, it may lend itself to abuse bringing about a discrimination between persons accused of offences of the same kind, for the police may send up a person accused of an offence under s. 366 to a section 30 Magistrate and the police may send another person accused of an offence under the same section to a Magistrate who can commit the accused to the Court of Session. This alternative contention was examined and it was also rejected. That incidentally raised the question as to whether the judicial decision could itself be said to offend Art. 14. S. R. Das, J., as he then was, who spoke for the Court, considered this contention, referred with approval to the observations made by Frankfurter, J., and Stone, C.J., of the Supreme Court of the United States in Snowden v. Hughes(2), and observed that the judicial decision must of necessity depend on the facts and circumstances.of each particular case and what may superficially appear to be an unequal application of the law may not (1) [1955]1 S.C.R. 1045.
(2) (1944) 321 U.S. 1: 88 Led. 497.
764 necessarily amount to a denial of equal protection of law unless there is shown to be present in it an element of intentional and purposeful discrimination. Having made this observation which at best may be said to assume that a judicial decision may conceivably contravene Art. 14, the learned Judge took the precaution of adding that the discretion of judicial officers is not arbitrary and the law provides for revision by superior Courts of orders passed by the subordinate Courts. In such circumstances, there is hardly any ground for apprehending any capricious discrimination by judicial tribunals.
It is thus clear that though the observations made by Frankfurter, J. and Stone, C. J. in Snowden v. Hughes(1) had been cited with approval, the question as to whether a judicial order can attract the jurisdiction of this Court under Art.
32(1) and (2) was not argued and did not fall to be considered at all. That question became only incidentally relevant in deciding whether the validity of the conviction which was impugned bythe appellants in the case of Budhan Choudhry and Others(2) could be successfully assailed on the ground that the judicial decision under s. 30, Cr. P. C.
was capriciously rendered against the appellants. The scope of the jurisdiction of this Court in exercising its writ jurisdiction in relation to orders passed by the High Court was not and could not have been examined, because the matter had come to this Court in appeal under Art. 132(1); and whether or not judicial decision can be said to affect any fundamental right merely because it incidentally and indirectly may encroach upon such right, did not therefore call for consideration or decision in that case. In fact, the closing observations made in the judgment themselves indicate that this Court was of the view that if any judicial order was sought to be attacked on the ground that it was inconsistent with Art. 14, the proper remedy to challenge such an order would be an appeal or revision as may be provided by law. We are, therefore, not prepared to accept Mr. Setalvad's assumption that the observations on which he bases himself support the proposition that according to this Court, judicial decisions rendered by courts of competent jurisdiction in or in relation to matters brought before them can be assailed on the ground that they violate Art. 14. It may incidentally be pointed out that the decision of the Supreme Court of the United States in Snowden v. Hughes(1) was itself not concerned with the validity of any judicial decision at all.
On the other hand, in The Parbhani Transport Co-operative Society Ltd. v. The Regional Transport Authority, Aurangabad and Others,(3), Sarkar, J. speaking for the Court, has observed that the decision of the Regional Transport Authority which was challenged before the Court may have been right or wrong, but that they (1)321 U.S. 1.
(2) [1955] 1 S.C.R. 1045 (3) [1960]3 S.C.R. 177.
765 were unable to see how that decision could offend Art. 14 or any oth
