High Court Bar Association, Allahabad  [Appellant]  Vs.  State of U.P. & Ors.   [Respondents]

CRIMINAL APPEAL NO.3589 OF 2023

5JB, D.Y. Chandrachud, Abhay S. Oka, J. B. Pardiwala, Manoj Misra and PANKAJ MITHAL JJ.)

Facts: By the order dated 1st December 2023, a Bench of three Hon’ble Judges of this Court expressed a view that a decision of this Court in the case of Asian Resurfacing of Road Agency Private Limited & Anr. v. Central Bureau of Investigation requires reconsideration by a larger Bench. The High Court held that an order of framing charge under the PC Act was interlocutory.

Issue: Whether decision of this Court in the case of Asian Resurfacing of Road Agency Private Limited & Anr. v. Central Bureau of Investigation requires reconsideration?

Arguments on behalf of counsel for appellant:

The main submissions were canvassed by Shri Rakesh Dwivedi as follows:

1. Automatic Vacation of the interim order is in the nature of judicial legislation. This Court cannot engage in judicial legislation;
2. Article 226 is a part of the basic structure of the Constitution of India, and it can neither be shut out nor whittled down by the exercise of powers under Articles 141 and 142;
3. The High Court is also a constitutional Court which is not judicially subordinate to this Court;
4. An order granting interim relief cannot be passed without an application of judicial mind. Application of mind is a pre-requisite of judicial decision making. The absence of application of mind would render a decision arbitrary. Similarly, an order vacating interim relief cannot be passed without the application of judicial mind.

Held: The court allowed the present appeal and laid down guidelines under Article 142 as follows:

“(i) The jurisdiction can be exercised to do complete justice between the parties before the Court. It cannot be exercised to nullify the benefits derived by a large number of litigants based on judicial orders validly passed in their favour who are not parties to the proceedings before this Court;

(ii) Article 142 does not empower this Court to ignore the substantive rights of the litigants;

(iii) While exercising the jurisdiction under Article 142 of the Constitution of India, this Court can always issue procedural directions to the Courts for streamlining procedural aspects and ironing out the creases in the procedural laws to ensure expeditious and timely disposal of cases.

(iv) The power of this Court under Article 142 cannot be exercised to defeat the principles of natural justice, which are an integral part of our jurisprudence.”