[Contempt of Courts (CAT)
Rules, 1992][1] [8th
September, 1992] In exercise of powers
conferred by Section 23 of the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971 (70 of 1971) read
with Section 17 of the Administrative Tribunals Act, 1985 (Act 13 of 1985) and
all other powers enabling it in this behalf and in supersession of all rules on
the subject, the Central Administrative Tribunal hereby makes the following
rules to regulate the proceedings under the said Act: (i)
These
rules may be called Contempt of Courts (CAT) Rules, 1992. (ii)
They
shall come into force on the date of their publication in the Official Gazette. In these rules unless there
is anything repugnant to the subject or context: (a)
“Act”
means the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971 (70 of 1971); (b)
“Code”
means the Code of Criminal Procedure; (c)
“Form”
means the form set out in the appendix to these rules; (d)
“Member”
means a Member, whether “Judicial” or “Administrative” and includes
Vice-Chairman and Chairman; (e)
“Registrar”
means the Registrar of the Central Administrative Tribunal or its Benches where
the contempt proceedings are taken and shall include Joint Registrar and Deputy
Registrar, and the Section Officer authorised to discharge the functions of the
Registrar; (f)
“Section”
means a section of the Act; (g)
“Tribunal”
means the Central Administrative Tribunal constituted under the Administrative
Tribunals Act, 1985 or the Bench thereof, where the proceedings are taken
cognizance of; (h)
Words
and expressions not defined in these rules shall have the same meaning as
defined in the Act. Every motion for intimating
action for contempt of the Tribunal shall be in the form of a petition
described as “Contempt Petition (Civil)” in respect of Civil Contempt and
“Contempt Petition (Criminal)” in respect of Criminal Contempt. The party who present the
petition shall be described as the “Petitioner” and the alleged contemner shall
be described as the “Respondent”. The petition shall be set
out the following particulars: (i)
(a)
Name (including as far as possible the name of the father/mother/husband, age)
occupation and address of: (i)
the
petitioner; and (ii)
the
respondent. (iii)
If
the alleged contemner is an officer, he shall be described by name and
designation. (b) provision of the Act
invoked and the nature of the contempt, “Civil” or “Criminal”; (c) the grounds and
materials facts constituting the alleged contempt including the date of alleged
contempt, divided into paragraphs, numbered consecutively, along with
supporting documents or certified/photostat (attested) copies of the originals
thereof; (d) the nature of the order
sought from the Tribunal; (e) if a petition has
previously been made by him on the same facts, the details, particulars and the
result thereof; (f) the petition shall be
supported by an affidavit verifying the facts relied upon except when the
motion is by the Attorney-General or the Solicitor-General or the Additional
Solicitor-General; (g) every petition shall be
signed by the petitioner and his Advocate, if any, and shall show the place and
date; (h) draft charges shall be
enclosed in a separate sheet; (i) in the case of “Civil
Contempt” certified copy of the judgment, decree, order, writ or undertaking
alleged to have been disobeyed shall be filed along with the petition; (j) where the petitioner
relies upon any other document(s) in his possession, or power, he shall file
them along with the petition; (ii)
in
the case of “Criminal Contempt” of the Tribunal other than a contempt referred
to in Section 14 of the Act, the petitioner shall state whether he has obtained
the consent of the Attorney-General or the Solicitor-General or the Additional
Solicitor-General and if so, produce the same, if not the reasons thereof; (iii)
the
petitioner shall file three complete sets of the petition including the
annexures in paper-book form, duly indexed and paginated. Where the number of
respondents is more than one, equal number of extra paperbooks shall be filed; (iv)
No
fee shall be payable on a petition or any document filed in the proceedings. Every proceeding for
contempt shall be dealt with by a Bench of not less than two Members: Provided where the contempt
is alleged to have been committed in view of, presence of hearing of the
Member(s), the same shall be dealt with by the Member(s) in accordance with
Section 14 of the Act. (i) Every petition for “Civil
Contempt” made in accordance with these rules shall be scrutinised by the
Registrar, registered and numbered in the Registry and then placed before the
Bench for preliminary hearing. (ii) Every petition for “Civil
Contempt” made in accordance with these rules and every information other than
a petition, for initiating action for criminal contempt under the Act on being
scrutinized by the Register (sic Registrar) shall first be placed on the
administrative side before the Chairman in the case of the Principal Bench and
the concerned Vice-Chairman in the case of other Benches or such other Member
as may be designated by him for this purpose and he considers it expedient and
proper to take action under the Act, the said petition or information shall be
registered and numbered in the Registry and placed before the Bench for
preliminary hearing. (iii) When suo motu action is
taken, the statement of facts constituting the alleged contempt and copy of the
draft charges shall be prepared and signed by the Registrar before placing them
for preliminary hearing. (i) The Bench if satisfied that
a prima facie case has been made out, may direct issue of notice to the respondent;
otherwise, it shall dismiss the petition or drop the proceedings. (ii) The notice shall be in Form
No. I and shall be accompanied by a copy of the petition or information and
annexures, if any, thereto. (iii) Service of notice shall be affected
in the manner specified in the Central Administrative Tribunal (Procedure)
Rules, 1987 or in such other manner as may be directed by the Bench. (i) The Tribunal may, if it has
reason to believe, that the respondent is absconding or is otherwise evading
service of notice, or has failed to appear in person in pursuance of the
notice, direct a warrant, bailable or non-bailable, for his arrest, addressed
to one or more Police Officers or may order attachment of property belonging to
such person. The warrant and the writ of attachment shall be issued under the
signature of the Registrar. The warrant shall be in Form No. II and shall be
executed as far as may be, in the manner provided for execution of warrants
under the Code. (ii) The warrant shall be executed
by the Officer or Officers to whom it is directed and may also be executed by
any other Police Officer whose name is endorsed upon the warrant by the Officer
to whom it is directed or endorsed. (iii) Every person who is
arrested and detained shall, if he cannot be produced before the Tribunal
within twenty-four hours of arrest, excluding the time necessary for the
journey from the place of arrest to the Tribunal, be produced before the
nearest Magistrate within the said period, who may authorise detention till
such person is produced before the Tribunal. (iv) Every person who is
arrested and detained when produced before the Tribunal, may be released on
bail on a bond for such sum of money as the Tribunal thinks sufficient with or
without sureties, with the condition that the person so released shall attend
the Tribunal at the time and place mentioned in the bond and shall continue to
so attend until otherwise directed by the Tribunal: Provided that the Tribunal
may, if it thinks fit, instead of taking bail from such person, release him on
personal bond for his attendance. The provisions of the Code shall, so far as
may be apply to all arrests made and bonds executed under the Rules. Unless ordered otherwise by
the Tribunal, whenever a notice is issued under these rules, the Respondent
shall appear in person in the case of “criminal contempt” and in person through
an Advocate in the case of “civil contempt”, at the time and place specified in
the notice and continue to attend on subsequent dates to which the petition is
posted. The Respondent may file his
reply duly supported by an affidavit on or before the first date of hearing or
within such extended time as may be granted by the Tribunal. Every person against whom
proceedings are initiated under the Act, may as of right be defended by an
Advocate of his choice. Upon consideration of the
reply filed by the Respondent and after hearing the parties: (a)
if
the respondent has tendered an unconditional apology after admitting that he
has committed the contempt, the Tribunal may proceed to pass such orders as it
deems fit; (b)
if
the respondent does not admit that he has committed contempt, the Tribunal may, (i) if it is satisfied that
there is a prima facie case, proceed to frame the charge in Form No. III
(subject to modification or addition by the Tribunal at any time), or (ii) drop the proceedings and
discharge the respondent, if it is satisfied that there is no prima facie case,
or that it is not expedient to proceed; (c)
the
respondent shall be furnished with a copy of the charge framed, which shall be
read over and explained to the respondent. The Tribunal shall then record his
plea, if any; (d)
if
the respondent pleads guilty, the Tribunal may adjudge him guilty and proceed
to pass such sentence as it deems fit; (e)
if
the respondent pleads not guilty, the case may be taken up for trial on the
same day or posted to any subsequent date as may be directed by the Tribunal. The Attorney
General/Solicitor General/Additional Solicitor General, or any other Advocate
as may be designated by the Tribunal shall appear and assist the Tribunal in
the conduct of the proceedings against the respondent. (i) Except as otherwise
provided in the Act and these rules, the procedure prescribed for summary
trials under Chapter XXI of the Code shall as far as practicable be followed in
the trial of cases for contempt. (ii) The Tribunal may, at its
discretion, direct that evidence be produced in the form of affidavits. (iii) The Tribunal may, either
suo motu or on motion made for that purpose, order the attendance for cross-examination
of a person whose affidavit has been filed in the matter. (iv) The Tribunal may, at its
discretion, direct any person to be examined as Tribunal witness. (v) The Tribunal may make such
order as it deems fit for the purpose of securing the attendance of any person
to be examined as a witness and for discovery or production of any document. (i) Where any person is
summoned by the Tribunal to appear as a witness in any proceedings under the
Act, the expenses of such witness as may be determined by the Tribunal shall be
borne by the party who cited him as a witness. (ii) Where the Tribunal summons
any witness other than the witnesses cited by the parties, his expenses as
determined by the Tribunal shall be paid by the Registrar from the funds for
contingencies. (i) If the respondent is found
guilty and is sentenced to imprisonment other than imprisonment till rising of
the Tribunal, a warrant of commitment and detention shall be made out in Form
No. IV under the signature of the Registrar. Every such warrant shall remain in
force until it is executed or cancelled by an order of the Tribunal. The
Superintendent of Jail specified in the order shall, in pursuance of the
warrant, detain the contemner in custody for the period specified therein
subject to such further direction as the Tribunal may give. (ii) When the Tribunal awards a
sentence of fine and the fine amount is not paid at once or within such time as
may be granted by the Tribunal, the Registrar shall take action in any one of
the ways provided in Section 421 of the Code. (iii) Warrants to be issued under
sub-rule (ii) shall be in Form Nos. V and VI, as the case may be. (iv) The report of the action
taken by the Superintendent of the Jail or the Police Officer or District
Collector to whom the warrant under sub-rule (iii) might have been addressed
shall be filed in the records of the case. Processes issued by the
Tribunal shall, except as otherwise specifically provided, be executed by the
Superintendent of Police/Commissioner of Police, as the case may be. If any bond given for
appearance of the respondent is forfeited due to his absence, the Tribunal may,
after giving opportunity to the respondent or the surety, as the case may be,
levy the whole or any part of the amount mentioned in the surety bond, as
penalty and direct the same to be recovered as if it were a fine imposed on the
respondent/surety under the Code. (i) If at any time during the
pendency of the proceedings, the contemner tenders an apology, the same shall
be placed expeditiously for orders of the bench. (ii) If the Tribunal accepts the
apology, further proceedings shall be dropped. (i) The Tribunal may award
costs as it deems fit in the circumstances of the case. (ii) The costs so awarded shall
be recovered in the same manner as a fine imposed under the Code. In matters not specifically
provided for in these rules, the procedure prescribed in the relevant rules of
the Tribunal as amended from time to time shall mutatis mutandis apply to
proceedings under these rules. These rules shall, as far
as practicable apply to pending proceedings. FORM
I [See Rule
13(b)(i)] Notice to Respondent IN THE CENTRAL
ADMINISTRATIVE TRIBUNAL (Name of the Bench) Place Contempt Petition
Civil/Criminal No……………………………………………………………………………….. Petitioner………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. Vs. Respondent………………………………………………………………………………………………………... (here mention the name and
address of the person to whom the notice is being sent.) Whereas information is laid/a
petition is filed/motion is made by………………………………………..that you (here mention the
gist of accusation made in the information/petition/motion) ………………………………………; And whereas a petition has
been registered for action being taken against you under the Contempts of
Courts Act, 1971; You are hereby required to
appear in person or through a duly authorised advocate[2] on
…………… day of ………. at ……………… and on subsequent dates to which the proceedings
are adjourned, unless otherwise ordered by the Tribunal, and show cause why
such action as is deemed fit under the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971 should not
be taken against you. Given under my hand and
seal of this Tribunal, this ………………… day of ……………… 20 ……………… Seal……………………….. Registrar Central Administrative
Tribunal FORM
II [See Rule
9(i)] Warrant of Arrest IN THE CENTRAL
ADMINISTRATIVE TRIBUNAL (Name of the Bench) Place Contempt Petition
Civil/Criminal No……………………………………………………………………………... Petitioner:…………………………………………………………………………………………………………. Vs. Respondent:……………………………………………………………………………………………………….. To ………………………………………. ……………………………………….. (Name, designation and
address of the Officer(s) authorised to execute the warrant). Whereas Shri/Smt ……………… of
…………….. is charged with committing contempt of the Tribunal, you are hereby
directed to arrest the said ………………. and to produce him/her before this
Tribunal. Herein fail not. (If the Tribunal has issued
a bailable warrant, the following endorsement shall be made on the warrant). If the said ……………….. shall
give bail in the sum of Rs ……… with one surety in the sum of Rs ………… (or two
sureties each in the sum of Rs……………….. ) to attend before this Tribunal on the
……………. day of………… 20……………….. and to continue so to attend until otherwise
directed by this Tribunal, he may be released. Given under my hand and the
seal of the Tribunal this…………………. day of…………… 20……………… Seal……………………….. Registrar Central Administrative
Tribunal FORM
III [See Rule
13(b)(i)] Charge IN THE CENTRAL ADMINISTRATIVE
TRIBUNAL (Name of the Bench) Place Contempt Petition
Civil/Criminal No…………………………………………………………………………….. Petitioner:………………………………………………………………………………………………………… Vs. Respondents:
…………………………………………………………………………………………………….. Central Administrative
Tribunal…………….Bench hereby charges you………...(name of the alleged contemner) as
under:— That you, on or
about……….day of..…..at……….(here give the gist of the material……………… llegedly
constituting contempt) and thereby committed the contempt of this Tribunal
punishable under Section………………. (here give the relevant section of the Contempt
of the Courts Act, 1971), within our cognizance. You are hereby directed to
be tried by this Tribunal for the aforesaid charge. Signature(s) of the Hon'ble
member(s) The charge was read over
and explained to the alleged contemner and his plea was recorded as under: (1) Do you plead guilty to the
charge? Answer: (2) Do you have anything else
to say? Answer: Signature of the alleged
contemner Signature(s) of the Hon'ble Member(s) presiding over
the Bench. WARRANT OF COMMITMENT TO
PRISON FORM
IV [See Rule
17(i)] (Name of the Bench) Place Contempt Petition
Civil/Criminal No…………………………………………………………………………….. Petitioner:…………………………………………………………………………………………………………… Vs. Respondent/s:……………………………………………………………………………………………………... To The Superintendent (Name of the Jail) Place Whereas the Central
Administrative Tribunal...........Bench has on this…….................... day
of………….……….. adjudged……….. (name/description of the contemner) guilty of wilful
contempt of the Tribunal and sentenced to undergo simple imprisonment for ……………
(here specify the term) and/or to pay a fine of Rs………… and in default of
payment of fine to undergo simple imprisonment for……………... (specify the
period). This is to authorise and
require you, the Superintendent of the............ Jail, to receive the said
(name of the contemner) into your custody, together with this warrant and keep
him safely in the said Jail for the said period or for such period as may
hereinafter be fixed by the order of this Tribunal and intimated to you. You
are directed to return this warrant with an endorsement certifying the manner
of its execution. You are further directed
that while the said……………. is in your custody, produce the said……………….. before
this Tribunal at all times when the Tribunal so directs. Given under my hand and
seal of the Tribunal this………………….. day of………………….. Seal Registrar Central Administrative
Tribunal WARRANT FOR ATTACHMENT OF
MOVABLES Form
V [See Rule
17(ii) & (iii)] IN THE CENTRAL
ADMINISTRATIVE TRIBUNAL (Name of the Bench) Place Contempt Petition
Civil/Criminal No…………………………………………………………………………….. Petitioner:………………………………………………………………………………………………………… Vs. Respondent
……………………………………………………………………………………………………… To ……………………………. ……………………………. (Name and designation of
the Police Officer or other officer authorised to execute the warrant.) Whereas the Central
Administrative Tribunal on (this day) has adjudged………………………………… (name and
description of the contemner) guilty of wilful contempt of Tribunal and
sentenced to pay a fine of Rs………… and whereas the said……………… (name) although
required to pay the said fine has not paid the same or any part thereof. This is to authorise and
require you to attach any movable property belonging to the said…………… (name)
which may be found within the district of………….. and if within…………. (state the
number of days or hours allowed) next after such attachment, the said sum shall
not be said to sell the movable property attached or so much thereof, as shall
be sufficient to satisfy the said fine, returning this warrant, with an
endorsement certifying that you have done under it, immediately upon its
execution. Given under my hand and the
seal of the Tribunal this…………….. day of………………. 20…………….. Seal Registrar Central Administrative
Tribunal. WARRANT OF ATTACHMENT BY
DISTRICT COLLECTOR/DY. COMMISSIONER Form
VI [See Rule
17(ii) & (iii)] IN THE CENTRAL
ADMINISTRATIVE TRIBUNAL (Name of the Bench) Place Contempt Petition
Civil/Criminal No……………………………………………………………………………… Petitioner
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………… Vs. Respondent
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………. To The District Collector/Dy.
Commissioner ………………………………….District Whereas the Central
Administrative Tribunal on……….. (this day) had adjudged…………………………. (name and
description of the contemner) guilty of wilful contempt of Tribunal and
sentenced to pay a fine of Rs………….. and whereas the
said............................ (name) although required to pay the said fine
has not paid the said fine/the sum of………………. being the part thereof. This is to authorise and
require you to realise the amount by execution according to civil process
against the movable or immovable property or both of the respondent aforesaid
in the manner provided by Section 421 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973. This order shall be deemed
to be a decree and you the decree holder within the meaning of the Code of
Civil Procedure, 1908 and the order shall executable as such decree. Given under my hand and the
seal of this Court, this……………… day of……………… 20………………… Seal Registrar Central Administrative
TribunalContempt of Courts (CAT) Rules, 1992