Excelsior Correspondent
Srinagar, Oct 8 : High Court today said that the Central Administrable Tribunal (CAT) has the jurisdiction to initiate contempt proceedings for non-compliance of the orders passed by the High Court.
The petitions were filed for initiation of contempt proceedings against the respondents-authorities for wilful disobedience and noncompliance of the interim orders passed by the high court which, by virtue of the provisions of Section 29 of the Act, have been transferred to the Central Administrative Tribunal, Jammu.
The counsels appearing in these petitions contended that the jurisdiction and power of the Tribunal to punish for contempt under Section 17 of the Act is only in respect of contempt of itself and, therefore, the Tribunal has no power or authority to punish the respondents for contempt committed by them in relation to an interim order passed by the High Court.
Underscoring the section 29 of the CAT Act, Justice Sanjeev Kumar recorded that it will leave no manner of doubt that whenever a pending matter stands transferred to the Tribunal under the Act and the Tribunal proceeds to deal with it from the stage which was reached before such transfer, all orders passed by this Court in such matter get transferred along with the file of the writ petition and ipso facto become the orders of the Tribunal.
Court said the interpretation as provided in the section 29 would mean nullifying the proceedings taken and the orders passed by this Court up to the stage when the cases stands transferred by operation of Section 29 of the Act and the Tribunal would necessarily be called upon to proceed in the matter a fresh as if the writ petition was an application presented to it for the first time under Section 19 of the Ac and initiate contempt proceedings for wilful disobedience and non-compliance of the orders, which were passed by the High Court and on transfer became and shall be deemed to be the orders of the Tribunal.
Court has also made it clear that Under Article 215 of the Constitution of India read with relevant provisions of the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971, High Court alone has the power and jurisdiction to punish for contempt of itself and in the similar manner under Section 17 of the Act, the Tribunal has been given power and jurisdiction to punish for contempt of itself.
“Viewed from any angle, I am of the considered view that contempt in relation to the orders passed by this Court in the petitions, which subsequently stand transferred to the Tribunal under Section 29 of the Act, shall lie only and only before the Tribunal under Section 17 of the Act”, Justice Kumar clarified.
Court said, the orders and the proceedings taken in the petitions prior to their transfer shall be and shall be deemed to be the orders and the proceedings of the Tribunal, should the Tribunal decides to proceed to deal with the petitions from the stage it was reached before such transfer. “The powers conferred upon the Tribunal under Sub-clause (b) of Sub Section (4) of Section 29 of the Act to proceed in the transferred petitions from an earlier stage or a fresh as the Tribunal may deem fit fortifies the conclusion arrived at by me”, Justice Kumar said.
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