It’s become the gold standard of the way Goa government and its various constituents treat the law. Their attitude to the law and judiciary is insincere, lackadaisical and nothing short of rebuke. In legal parlance, they are contemnor. What happened at Mopa Greenfield Airport site 48 hours ago when the police and administration-backed private entity allegedly went about cutting hundreds of trees, deliberately ignoring the strictures of the High Court of Bombay at Goa that no trees be cut was contempt. Not just the contempt of nature but the contempt of the whole process of law. And yet another milestone in the growing number of times that government-backed agencies cock a snook at the courts.
Kashinath Shetye, one of the finest warriors of the civil society, who, despite being in the government, has taken on the government’s trails of commissions and omissions breaking the law time and again had recently hauled the City Commissioner of Panjim for defying and breaking the High Court order disallowing shops on the footpath. Though the High Court had almost two and a half decades ago given strictures that Goa’s footpaths should not have encroached, it was Shetye who not only ensured its implementation in spirit but also had over 140 people arrested for the violation and contempt of the High Court order. And despite having almost a dozen cases of contempt of the High Court order being successfully addressed, he confirms the widespread prevalence of “slap, say sorry and forget” culture. The removal of many places of worship by the roadside that was ordered to Chief Secretary of every State still remains pending, just like the half-hearted clearing of our footpaths. The list of contempt with government as contemnor grows every day.
But such brazen insult of High Court orders isn’t that easy as Goa government’s law department would like us to believe. Last year, while sentencing a person accused of contempt to six months’ imprisonment, the High Court of Madhya Pradesh observed that “slap, say sorry and forget” practice by some contemnors cannot be accepted and cannot be allowed to go scot-free by a simple ‘paper apology’. The Court emphasised that “if we accept such a false “paper apology” it would shake the public confidence in the judicial system and would also result in erosion and lowering of the dignity and authority of the Court as well as the judicial system in the eyes of the public at large”.
Is Goa listening? Are Goans even aware? In the above case, even though the contemnor filed an apology before the court, it refused to accept and punished him exemplarily.
Article 129 and 215 of the Constitution of Indian and Section 12 (1) of the Contempt of Courts Act 1971 gives our courts enough power to ensure that those who do not follow their orders and even flay it are not let go scot free. The power of contempt is often invoked to ensure compliance with the orders given by the courts and in their execution. It is also invoked for punishing those who are responsible for the lapses in the manner of compliance. For a Goenkar/Goan, who has been steadily disappointed by the outrageous conduct of the self-serving Goa government; contempt power is to ensure that the esteem of our judicial institutions is not lowered and our faith in law remains intact. But what do the courts do when the government and its protected behave as habitual offenders? How can people believe that law shall prevail when government lawyers say “Kor re tum, maagir dekhuya (Do it. We shall see later). We shall face contempt, say sorry and finish the matter”.
But there is still hope. The way the High Court ensured that its order was followed to the last ‘T’ in two RER cases recently, the manner in which the CCP Commissioner was made an example keeps our faith in the judiciary intact. But then, is Goa bringing to the notice of our courts that there orders are being contempt?
