Full Judgment Text
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PETITIONER:
S.A. VENKATARAMAN
Vs.
RESPONDENT:
THE UNION OF INDIA AND ANOTHER.
DATE OF JUDGMENT:
30/03/1954
BENCH:
MUKHERJEA, B.K.
BENCH:
MUKHERJEA, B.K.
AIYYAR, T.L. VENKATARAMA
DAS, SUDHI RANJAN
BHAGWATI, NATWARLAL H.
JAGANNADHADAS, B.
CITATION:
1954 AIR 375 1954 SCR 1150
CITATOR INFO :
F 1956 SC 66 (17,26)
F 1958 SC 36 (25)
R 1959 SC 375 (30)
R 1960 SC 493 (11)
RF 1961 SC 29 (22)
D 1961 SC 751 (24)
ACT:
Constitution of India, art. 20(2)--Enquiry made under
Public Servants (Inquiries) Act, 1850-Whether amounts to
prosecution and punishment within the meaning of art. 20(2).
HEADNOTE:
Held that an enquiry made and concluded under -the Public
Servants (Inquiries) Act, 1850 (A-at XXXVII of 185O), does
not amount to prosecution and punishment for an offence as
contemplated by art. 20(2) of the Constitution.
Maqbool Hussain v. The State of Bombay ([1953] S.C.R.
703); Willis on Constitutional Law, p. 528; and Shenton v.
Smith ([18951 A.C. 229); Venkata Rao v. The Secretary of
State for India (64 I.A. 55); Government of India Act, 1935,
s. 240(3); referred to.
JUDGMENT:
CRIMINAL ORIGIINAL JURISDICTioN: Petition No. 72 of 1954.
Petition under article 32 of the Constitution for the
enforcement of fundamental rights.
A. K. Basu, K. S. Jayaram and C. B. Pattabhiraman (R.
Ganapathy and C. V. L. Narayan, with them) for the
petitioner.
M. C. Setalvad, Attorney-General for India and C. K.
Daphtary, Solicitor-General for India (Porus A. Mehta and
P. G. Gokhate, with them) for respondent No. 1.
1954. March 30. The Judgment of the Court was delivered
by
MUKHMRJEA J.-This is a. petit ion under article 32 of the
Constitution, praying for a writ, in the nature of
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certiorari, for calling up the records of certain criminal
proceedings started against the petitioner by the Special,
judge. Sessions Court, Delhi, and for quashing the safe on
the ground that these proceedings are without jurisdiction,
having been commenced
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in violation of the fundamental right of the petitioner
guaranteed under article 20(2) of the Constitution.
The petitioner was a member of the Indian Civil Service
and till lately was employed as Secretary to the Ministry of
Commerce and Industries in the Government of India. Certain
imputations of misbehaviour by the petitioner, while holding
offices of various descriptions under the Government of
India, came to the notice of the Central Government and the
latter being satisfied that there were prima facie good
grounds for making an enquiry directed a formal and public
enquiry to be made as to the truth or falsity of the
allegations made Against the petitioner, in accordance with
the provisions of the Public Servants (Inquiries) Act of
1850. The substance of the imputations was drawn up in the
form of specific charges and Sir Arthur Trevor Harries, an
ex-Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court, was appointed
Commissioner under section 3 of the said Act to conduct the
enquiry and report to the Government, on the result of the
same, his opinion on the several articles of charge
formulated against the petitioner. The order of the Central
Government directing the enquiry is dated the 21st February,
1953. The charges were drawn up under six heads with
various sub-beads under each one of them. The first charge
alleged that the petitioner was guilty of misbehaviour
inasmuch as he showed undue favour to Messrs. Millars
Timber and Trading Company Limited in the matter of issue of
import and export licences, by abusing his position as a
public servant in the discharge of his duties, that is, by
accepting illegal gratification or valuable things for
import and export licences recommended or to be recommended
by him. The second charge was to the effect that the
petitioner accepted or obtained valuable things for himself
and other members of his family, without paying for them, on
different dates from Messrs. Millars Timber and Trading
Company Limited for recommending their applications for
import licences and export permits. The fourth and the
fifth charges
149
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were similar in nature to charges 1 and 2 except that they
related to the Petitioners dealings with another firm known
as Sunder Das Saw Mills.
The enquiry proceeded in the manner laid down in ,the
Public Servants (Inquiries) Act. The charges were read out
to the petitioner and his plea of "not guilty" was formally
recorded. Evidence was adduced both by the prosecute or and
the defence and the witnesses on both sides were examined on
oath and cross. examined and re-examined in the usual
manner. The Commissioner found, on a consideration of the
evidence, that four of the charges under various sub-heads
were proved against the petitioner and submitted a report to
that effect to the Government on the 4th of May, 1953. By a
letter dated the 15th of May, 1953, the Government informed
the -petitioner that, on careful consideration of the
report, the President accepted the opinion of the
Commissioner and in view of the findings on the several
charges arrived at by the latter was provisionally of
opinion that the petitioner should be dismissed.
Opportunity was given to the petitioner by this letter in
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terms of article 311(2) of the Constitution to show cause
against the action proposed to be taken in regard to him and
it was stated that any representation, which he might desire
to make, would be taken into consideration before the final
order was passed. The petitioner, it seems, did make a
representation which was considered by the Government and
after consultation with the Union Public Service Commission
the President finally decided to impose the penalty of
dismissal upon the petitioner. The order of dismissal was
passed on the 17th of September, 1953. On the 23rd
February, 1954, the police submitted a charge-sheet against
the petitioner before the Special Judge, Sessions Court,
Delhi, charging him with offences under sections 161/165 of
the Indian Penal Code and section 5(2) of the Prevention of
Corruption Act and upon that, summons were issued by the
learned Judge directing the petitioner to appear be-fore his
court on the 11th of March. 1954. , It is the legality of
this proceeding that has been challenged
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before us in this writ petition. The petitioner’s case, in
substance, is that the proceedings that have been started
against him are without jurisdiction inasmuch as they amount
to fresh prosecution for offences for which he has been
prosecuted and punished already and this comes within the
prohibition of article 20(2) of the Constitution. The
sole.-point for our consideration is, whether in the events
that have happened in this case, there has been a violation
of the fundamental right of the petitioner under article
20(2) of the Constitution which would justify the issue of a
writ for enforcement of the same?
The scope and meaning of the guarantee implied in.
article 20(2) of the Constitution has been indicated with
sufficient fullness in the pronouncement of this court in
Maqbool Hussain Y. The State of Bombay(1). . The roots of
the principle, which this clause enacts, are to be found in
the well established rule of English law which finds
expression in the maxim "Nemo debet bis vexari"-a man must
not be put twice in peril for the same offence. If a man is
indicted again for the same offence in an English court, he
can plead, as a complete defence, his former acquittal or
conviction, or as it is technically expressed, take the plea
of "autrefois acquit" or "autrefois convict". The
corresponding provision in the Federal Constitution of the
U.S.A. is contained in the Fifth Amendment, which provides
inter alia: "Nor shall any person be subjected for the same
offence to be put twice in jeopardy of life and limb". This
principle has been recognised and adopted by the Indian
Legislature and is embodied in the provisions of section 26
of the General Clauses Act and section 403 of the Criminal
Procedure Code.
Although these were the materials which formed the
background of the guarantee of the fundamental right given
in article 20(2) of the Constitution, the ambit and contents
of the guarantee, as this court pointed out in the case
referred to above, are much narrower than those of the
common law rule in England or the doctrine of "double
jeopardy" in the American
(1) [1953] S.C.R- 703.
1154
Constitution. Article,20(2)of our Constitution,it is to be
noted, does not contain the principle of "autrefois acquit"
at all. It seems that our Constitution makers did not think
it necessary to raise one part of the common law rule to the
level of a fundamental right and thus make it immune from
legislative interference. This has been left to be
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regulated by the general law of the land. In order to
enable a citizen to invoke the protection of clause (2) of
article 20 of the Constitution, there must have been both
prosecution and punishment in respect of the same offence.
The words prosecuted and punished" are to be taken not
district butively so as to mean prosecuted or punished.
Both the factors must co-exist in order that the operation
of the clause may be attracted. The position is also
different under the American Constitution. There the
prohibition is not against a second punishment but against
the peril in which a person may be placed by reason of a
valid indictment being presented against him, before a
competent court, followed by proper arraignment and plea and
a lawful impanelling of the jury. It is not necessary to
have a verdict at all(1).
It has also been held by this court in Maqbool Hussain’s
case(2) that the language of article 20 and the words
actually used in it afford a clear indication that the
proceedings in connection with the prosecution and
punishment of a person must be in the nature of a criminal
proceeding, before a court of law or judicial tribunal, and
not before a tribunal which entertains a departmental or an
administrative enquiry even though set up by a statute, but
which is not required by law to try a matter judicially and
on legal evidence. In that case the proceedings were taken
under the Sea Customs Act before a Customs authority who
ordered confiscation of goods. It was held that such
proceedings were not "Prosecution", nor the order of
confiscation a "punishment" within the meaning of article
20(2) inasmuch as the Customs authority was not a court or a
judicial tribunal and merely exercised administrative powers
vested in him for revenue purposes.
(1) Vide Wills on Constitutional Law, p. 528.
(2) [1953] S.C.R.- 703.
1155
The facts of this case are no doubt different and the
point that requires determination is, whether the petitioner
can be said to have, satisfied all the conditions that are
necessary to enable him to claim the protection of article
20(2) The charges, upon which the petitioner is being
prosecuted now, are charges under sections 161 and 165 of
the Indian Penal Code and section 5(2) of the Prevention of
Corruption Act. We will assume for our present purpose that
the allegations upon which these charges are based are
substantially the same which formed the subject matter of
enquiry under the Public Servants (Inquiries) Act of 1850.
The question narrows down to this : whether the petitioner
had already been (1) prosecuted and (2) punished for these
offences ?
Mr. Basu, appearing on behalf of the petitioner, contends
that his client was, in fact, prosecuted for these identical
offences before the Commissioner appointed under Act XXXVII.
of 1850. This, it is argued, was not a mere departmental
enquiry of the type referred to in Maqbool Hussain’s
case(1). The Commissioner was a judicial tribunal in the
proper sense of the expression. He had to adjudicate on the
charges judicially, on evidence, recorded on oath, which he
was authorised by law to administer. The prosecution was
conducted by a prosecutor appointed under the Act, charges
were read out to the accused person and his plea was taken;
witnesses on both sides were examined on oath and they were
cross-examined and re-examined. The Commissioner had all
the powers of a court; he could summon witnesses, compel
production of relevant documents and punish people for
contempt. At the close of the enquiry, the Commissioner did
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record his finding against the petitioner on some of the
charges. He had undoubtedly no power to impose any
punishment and had only to forward his report to the
Government. Under section 22 of the Act, however, the
Government was entitled to pass such orders within its
authority, as it considered proper and in exercise of this
authority the President did impose upon the petitioner the
penalty of dismissal.
(1) [1953] S.C. R. 7o3.
1156
It is immaterial, it is argued, for the purPose of article
20(2) of the.constitution that the -prosecution was before
one authority and punishment was inflicted by another. The
petitioner was both prosecuted and punished and he is
sought to be prosecuted on the same chages over again. This
constitutes, according to the learned counsel, a clear
violation of the guarantee implied in article 20(2) of the
constitution. The questions raised are undoubetdly of
some importance and require to be carefully exaimined.
It is true that the Commissioner appointed to make an
enquiry under Act XXXVII of 1850 is invested with some of
the powers of a court, particularly in the matter of
summoning witnesses and compelling the production of
documents and the report, which he has to make has to be
made on legal evidence adduced under sanction of oath and
tested by cross-examination. But from these facts alone the
conclusion does not necessarily follow that an enquiry made
and concluded under Act XXXVII of 1850 amounts to
prosecution and punishment for an offence as contemplated.
by article 20(2) of the Constitution. In order to arrive at
a proper decision on this point, it is necessary to examine
the entire background-of the provisions relating to enquiry
into the conduct of public servants and to ascertain the
exact scope and purpose of the enquiry as is contemplated by
Act XXXVII of 1850 and the ultimate result that flows from
it.
It is a well established principle of English law that,
except where it is otherwise provided by a statute, all
public officers and servants of the Crown hold their
appointments at the pleasure of the Crown. Their services
can be terminated without assigning any reason and even if
any public servant considers that he has been unjustly
dismissed, his remedy is not by way of a law suit but by an
appeal of an official or political character(1). This
principle of law was applied in lndia ever since the advent
of British rule in this country and the servants in the
employ, of the East India Company also came within the
purview of this
(1) Vide Shenton v. Smith [1895) A.C. 229.
1157
rule. It is to be remembered that it was during the period
of the East India Company that the Public Servants
(Inquiries) Act was passed in 1850. The object of the Act,
as stated in the preamble, was to regulate enquiry into the
behaviour of public servants, not removal from service
without the sanction of the Government. The enquiry was
quite optional with the Government and did not affect in any
way the powers of the Government to dismiss its servants at
pleasure and this was expressly provided by section 25 of
the Act, the wording of which is as follows:
" Nothing in this Act shall be construed to affect the
authority of the Government to. suspending or removing any
public servant for any cause without an enquiry under the
Act. "
After assumption of the Government of India by the Crown,
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this rule of English common law continued unaltered till
1919 when section 96B was introduced by the amended
Government of India Act of that year. Sub-section (1) of
section 96B of the Government- of India Act, 1919, runs as
follows:
" Subject to the provisions of this Act and of rules
made thereunder, every person in the civil service of the
Crown in India holds office during His Majesty’s pleasure
and may be employed in any manner required by a proper
authority within the scope of his duty, but no person in
that service may be dismissed by any authority subordinate
to that by which he was appointed ....................."
Thus one restriction imposed by this section upon the
unfettered right of the Government to dismiss its servants
at its pleasure, was that no servant could be dismissed by
any authority subordinate to that by which he was appointed.
The section by its opening words also makes the exercise of
the power subject to the rules made under the Act and it was
in pursuance of the provision of section 96-B(2) that the
Civil Service (Classification, Control and Appeal) Rules
were framed which with the later amendments are in force
even now. Part XII of these rules deal with Conduct and
]Discipline of Civil Servants and rule 49 of this part lays
down that the different penalties provided,
1l58
by the different clauses of the rule may, for good and
sufficient reasons, be imposed upon members of the services
comprised in clauses (1) to (5) in rule 14. These penalties
include, amongst others, censure, withholding of increment,
dismissal, reduction in rank and removal. Rule 55, which
finds a place in the same chapter, lays down the procedure
to be followed before passing an order of dismissal, removal
or reduction in rank against any member of the service. No
such order shall be passed unless the person concerned has
been informed,, in writing, of the grounds on which it is
proposed to take action against him and has been afforded an
adequate opportunity of defending himself. An enquiry has
to be made regarding his conduct and this may be done either
in accordance with. the provisions of the Public Servants
(Inquiries) Act of 1850 or in a less formal and less public
manner as is provided for in the rule itself.
These rules have no statutory force and it was held by the
Privy Council that when an officer was dismissed from
service without complying with the provisions of these
rules, he had no right of action against: the Crown(1). In
other words, the rules, which were not incorporated in a
statute, did not impose any legal restriction upon the right
of the Crown to dismiss its servants at pleasure.
The position was altered to some extent in the Government
of India Act, 1935, and in addition to the restriction
imposed by section 96-B(1) of the Government of India Act,
1919, that a civil servant could not be dismissed by an
authority subordinate to that by which he was appointed, a
further statutory provision was made(2), that a civil
servant could not be dismissed or reduced in rank unless the
person concerned was given a reasonable opportunity of
showing cause against the action proposed to be taken
against him. Article 311(2) of the present Constitution has
further added the word " removal " after " dismissal " and
(1) Vide Vankata Rao v. The Secretary of State for India,
64 I.A. 55.
(2) Vide section 240(3) Of the Government of India Act,
1935.
1159
before reduction in rank " and thus in all the three cases
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which are covered by rule 55 of the Civil Services Rules, a
civil servant has now a constitutional right to claim a -
reasonable opportunity of showing cause against the action
proposed to be taken in regard to him.
As the law stands at present, the only purpose, for which
an enquiry under Act XXXVII of 1850 could be made, is to
help the Government to come to a definite conclusion
regarding the misbehaviour of a public servant and thus
enable it to determine provisionary the punishment which
should be imposed upon him prior to giving him a reasonable
opportunity of showing cause, as is required under article
311(2) of the Constitution. An enquiry under this Act is
not at all compulsory and it is quite open to the Government
to adopt any other method if it so chooses. It is a matter
of convenience merely and nothing else. It is against this
background that we will have to examine the material
provisions of the Public Servants (Inquiries),Act of 1850
and see whether from the. nature and result of the enquiry
which the Act contemplates it is at all possible to say that
the proceedings taken or concluded under the Act amount to
prosecution and punishment for a criminal offence.
It may be pointed out that the words "prosecution" and
"punishment" have no fixed connotation and they, are
susceptible of both a wider and a narrower meaning; but in
article 20(2) both these words have been used with reference
to an "offence" and the word "offence" has to be taken in
the sense in which it is used in the General Clauses Act as
meaning I an act or omission made punishable by any law for
the time being in force." It follows that the prosecution
must be in reference to, the law which creates the offence
and the punishment must also be in accordance with what that
law prescribed The acts alleged to have been committed by,
the petitioner in the present case and on the basis of which
the charges have been framed against him do come within the
definition of "offences" described in sections 161 and 165
of the Indian Penal Code and
150
1160
section 5(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act. The
Public Servants (Inquiries) Act does not itself create any
offence nor does it provide any, punishment for it. Rule 49
of the Civil Services Rules mentioned above merely speaks of
imposing certain penalties upon public servants for good and
sufficient reasons. The rule does not mention any
particular offence and obviously can create none. It is to
enable the Government to come to the conclusion as to
whether good and sufficient reasons exist, within the
meaning of rule 49 of the Civil Services Rules, for imposing
the penalties of removal, dismissal or reduction in rank
upon a public servant that an enquiry may be directed under
Act XXXVII of 1850. A Commissioner appointed under this Act
has no duty to investigate any offence which is punishable
under the Indian Penal. Code or the Prevention of
Corruption Act and he has absolutely no jurisdiction to do
so. The subject-matter of investigation by him is the truth
or otherwise of the imputation of misbehaviour made against
a public servant and it is only as instances of misbehaviour
that the several articles of charge are investigated, upon
which disciplinary action might be taken by the Government
if it so chooses. The mere fact that the word-"prosecution"
has been used, would not make the proceeding before the
Commissioner one for prosecution of an offence. As the
Commissioner has to form his opinion upon legal evidence, he
has been given the power to summon witnesses, administer
oath to then and also to compel production of relevant
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documents. These, may be some of the trappings of a
judicial tribunal, but they cannot make the proceeding any-
thing more than a mere fact finding enquiry. This is
concluisively established by the provisions of section 21
and 22 of the Act. At the close of the enquiry, the
Commissioner has to submit a report to the Government
regarding his finding on each one of the charges made: This
is a mere expression of opinion and it lacks both finality
and authoritativeness which are ,he essential tests of a
judicial pronouncement. The )pinion is not even binding on
the Government Under section 22 of the Act, the Government
can, after
1161
receipt of the report, call upon the Commissioner to take,
further evidence or give further explanation of his
opinion. When Special Commissioners are appointed, their
report could be referred to the court or other authority to
which the officer concerned is subordinate for further
advice and after taking -the opinion of the different
authorities and persons, the Government has to decide
finally what action it should take.
Then again neither section 21 nor section 22 of the Act
says anything about punishrment. There is no to express any
power in the Commissioner even opinion about punishment and
section 22 only contemplates such order as the Government
can pass in its capacity as employer in respect to servants
employed by it. As has been said already, an order of
dismissal of a servant cannot be regarded as a punishment
for an offence punishable under particular sections of the
Indian Penal Code or of the Prevention of Corruption Act. A
somewhat analogous case would be that of a member of the Bar
whose name is struck off the rolls on grounds of
professional misconduct, in exercise of disciplinary
jurisdiction by the proper authority. The professional
misconduct might amount to a criminal offence, but if we are
to accept the petitioner’s contention as correct, the man
cannot be prosecuted for it, even though the authority
inflicting the penalty of removal was not a competent court
to investigate any criminal charge nor was the punishment
imposed in exercise of disciplinary jurisdiction a
punishment for an offence.
In our opinion, therefore, in an enquiry under the Public
Servants (Inquiries) Act of 1850, there is neither any
question of investigating an offence in the sense of an act
or omission punishable by any law for the time being in
force, nor is there any question of imposing punishment
prescribed by the law which makes that act or omission an
offence. The learned Attorney General raised a point before
us that the test of the guarantee under article 20(2) is
whether the person has been tried and punished, not for the
same act, but
1162
for the same offence and his contention is that the
offences here are different, though they may arise -out of
the same acts. In the view that we have taken this question
does not arise for consideration at all. It is also not
necessary to express any opinion on the question raised by
the learned counsel for the petitioner as to whether for the
purpose of attracting the operation of article 20(2) the
punishment must be imposed by the same authority before
which the prosecution was conducted. The result is that, in
our opinion, the petition fails and in dismissed.
Petition dismissed.
APPENDIX
PROCEEDINGS AT THE SITTING
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OF THE
SUPREME COURT ON NOVEMBER 5,1954.
MEHR CHAND MAHAJAN C. J.,
BIJN KUMAR. MUKHERJEA,
S. R. DAS,
VIVIAN BOSE
N. H. BHAGWATI,
B. JAGANNADHADAS,
T. L. VEMNKATARAMA AYYAR, JJ.
MEHR CHAND MAHAJAN C. J.-We are meeting here this morning
on a very sad occasion to mourn the death of our brother,
Mr. Justice Ghulam Hasan, who suddenly collapsed this
morning at about 1 A.m. During my absence from Delhi to
Patiala, where I had gone to visit the High Court of Pepsu,
he was taken ill and was absent from Court on Monday last.
On my- return I made enquiries from him and he told me that
he had slight congestion in the lungs but that he was
feeling much better and would in all likelihood attend Court
on Friday. I saw him myself on Wednesday evening. He was
quite cheerful and looked well, and he told me that he was
feeling much better and would in all likelihood attend Court
on Friday, failing that on Monday. On Thursday morning his
condition had much improved, but late in the evening he
felt uncomfortable and was removed to hospital,, where he
suddenly collapsed. This is the short story of the
termination of a successful career on the Bench and at the
Bar of a very devoted and patriotic citizen of India.
Shri Ghulam Hasan was born on the 3rd July, 1891. After
a distinguished University career and an equally
1164
distinguished career at the Bar, he was raised to the Bench
of the Oudh Chief Court in 1940 and became its Chief Judge
in 1946. He was appointed Senior Judge of the Allahabad
High Court in 1948 on the amalgamation of the two High
Courts in the United Provinces. On retirement from the High
Court, he was appointed a member of the Labour Appellate
Tribunal and on the 8th September, 1952, he became a Judge
of this Court. Prior to his appointment as a Judge, he was
a Member of the U. P. Legislative Assembly for two years.
He war, also Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Red
Cross and St. John Ambulance Association, U. P. Branch,
since 1942. He received the honour of Knighthood of the
Order of St. John in 1947 in recognition of his humanitarian
services. He was interested in educational activities and
was a member of the Court of the Aligarh University and a
member of the Executive Committee of that University. He
had varied social and cultural interests which are quite
well known and it is hardly necessary to refer to them.
Both as a Member of the Bar and the Bench, Shri Ghulam
Hasan distinguished himself by his vast learning, his sense
of detachment and high judicial integrity. He was always
courteous and patient in his relations with the Bar, as in
his relations with his colleagues. If I may say so,
courtesy was writ large on his face. His full grasp of
facts, his thorough knowledge of law and his quick prception
of the real points in a case were of great assistance to us
in dealing with the many complicated questions that arose
for determination in this Court. He had a singularly
equable and gentle temperament. His simple and unaffected
manner attracted friends in every sphere and he will be very
much missed not only by me and his colleagues in this Court
but also in the social life of this city, which would be
distinctly poorer for his loss.
We have lost an esteemed colleague and a learned, just and
upright Judge, and the country has lost a patriotic and
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great citizen. He leaves behind his widow, a son, and a
daughter. We all mourn his loss with the members of his
family and offer condolence to all of them,
1165
I am sure gentlemen of the Bar will desire to associate
themselves with the Bench in conveying an expression of
heart-felt sympathy and condolence to the bereaved family.
May his soul rest in peace.
The Court will remain closed today as a mark of respect to
the deceased.
M.C. SETALVAD, ATTORNEY-GENERAL FOR INDIA.--My Lords, the
Bar respectfully associates itself with deep regret in your
Lordships expression of grief and sympathy. I recall how
about three years ago this Court assembled to mourn the
death of its first Chief Justice. The hand of fate has
smitten with equal suddenness on this occasion.
It is a little over two years ago that his Lordship became
a member of your Lordship Court. His affable personality,
his genial and his uniform courtesy made a deep impression
on all those who came into contact with him. Members of the
Bar will never forget the keen practical sense which he
brought to bear on all questions that came before him, the
patience with which he heard them, and the invariable
kindness he showed to them.
The Bar tenders its deep and heart-felt sympathy to those
near and dear to him in their great, sudden and irreparable
loss.
END OF VOL. V.