High court not subordinate to Supreme Court, says Justice Sehrawat of Punjab and Haryana HC

Saurabh Malik

Chandigarh, August 6

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has emphasised that it is not subordinate to the Supreme Court and there is no scope for the Supreme Court to issue sundry directions to a high court regarding specific proceedings pending before it.

Highlighting its independent status, Justice Rajbir Sehrawat made it clear that the relationship between a high court and the Supreme Court is not akin to that between a high court and a civil judge (junior division) within its jurisdiction.

The assertion came in a case where the apex court had stayed contempt proceedings before the high court. “Probably a more caution on the part of the Supreme Court would have been more appropriate,” Justice Sehrawat declared.

The Judge added such an order from a psychological perspective appeared to be driven by two primary factors: first, a reluctance to take responsibility for the likely consequences under the guise that a stay on contempt proceedings did adversely affect anybody; and second “a tendency to presume the Supreme Court to be more 'supreme' than it actually is and to presume a high court to be lesser 'high' than it constitutionally is”.

Justice Sehrawat added the order passed by the Supreme Court had given rise to a problem of constitutional conformity vis-à-vis the court compliance, besides increasing the pendency before the high court by one more case. “One never knows how many more cases in execution and contempt petition may have been kept pending throughout the country because of such orders,” Justice Sehrawat asserted.

Referring to the legal provisions, Justice Sehrawat asserted the high court's power under Article 215 was articulated in the same language as Article 129, which granted the Supreme Court authority to punish for contempt of its own orders.

Justice Sehrawat added the power to initiate and continue proceedings for alleged contempt with regard to an order passed by it was exclusively with the high court in terms of Article 215 of the Constitution and Section 12 of the Contempt of Courts Act.

The Supreme Court had no role in this aspect, except in an appeal against a high court Division Bench order convicting a contemner. According to the provisions of the Act, an appeal against an order passed by a Single Bench did not go directly to the Supreme Court. Instead, it is heard by the high court Division Bench. Its powers were clearly defined, both in terms of the appeal's stage and the type of order it could issue. “It is highly doubtful if the Supreme Court has any such power to stay operation of Article 215 of the Constitution of India and the Contempt of Courts Act, per se.”

‘The situation should serve as a note of caution for the Supreme Court to be more specific in its orders’

Justice Rajbir Sehrawat said the situation should serve as a note of caution for the Supreme Court to be more specific in its orders to avoid unintended legal consequences. The Bench observed that an order staying contempt proceedings in an SLP deprived about 35 per cent of the Punjab and Haryana Superior Judiciary of their selection grade and super time scale for several years. While the Supreme Court likely did not intend such drastic consequences, this occurred as the high court, on its administrative side, interpreted the stay as effectively suspending the final judicial order passed by its Division Bench.

“A question can very legitimately be asked, as to who is responsible for this plight of judicial officer manning the Superior Judiciary of State of Punjab and State of Haryana. Is it the high court or is it the Supreme Court? A soul searching on this aspect by the high court and the Supreme Court may surprise both of them equally,” the Bench observed.