Himachal Pradesh High Court raps civil judge for passing "terrifying order"

The Himachal Pradesh High Court recently pulled up a civil court judge for passing a "terrifying order" to take coercive steps against a judgment debtor (person against whom a civil court decree is passed) to recover some money, without first issuing him any notice [Surjan Singh V. Jawahar Lal]..The order had been passed by the civil court to execute a trial court decree for the payment of money. However, the executing court's decision to do away with issuing any notice to the judgment debtor before ordering coercive steps against him shocked the conscience of the High Court. The High Court demanded an explanation from the executing court on May 24, and the civil judge later tendered an unconditional apologyJustice Tarlok Singh Chauhan of the High Court accepted the apology but issued a note of warning against passing such orders. "It goes without saying that for a Judge to pass such a wanton order ignorant of the rudimentary principles of law; is not only highly improper but in violation of the fundamental rights of the citizens conferred by Article 21 of the Constitution of India, which seeks to tenaciously protect his liberty. Such rashness shows abject lack of probity, sensitivity, humanism, understanding, detachment and maintaining judicial discipline, the last being the uppermost consideration," Justice Chauhan said in a June 21 order. .Notably, in his apology, the civil judge explained that he had only passed the contentious order to ensure that the decree was executed within six months, in compliance with the Supreme Court's directives to ensure expeditious execution of decrees. The judicial officer added that he had devised a method of making short orders for the sake of brevity and to avoid repetition of the caveats, as the civil court had been overburdened with cases and was lacking in infrastructure facilities and well-trained staff.However, the judge admitted that such issues were no excuse for his lapse and urged the High Court to pardon the error. .The High Court underscored that although it is important to ensure the expeditious disposal of execution petitions, the mandatory provisions of law cannot be overlooked or thrown to the winds. The Code of Civil Procedure clearly provides for the mandatory issuance of a show cause notice to the judgment debtor before initiating any coercive steps, the High Court added. The High Court decided to take the civil court judge's apology on record and not take further steps against the judicial officer. However, it highlighted that the everyday rush or hurry of court business was no excuse to pass such a perverse order. "Even the excuse of everyday rush and hurry of court business or an oversight cannot save such a perverse order. No Judge ought to have passed such a terrifying order, the judicial impropriety of which disturbs the conscience of this court. It brings the judicial process to infamy in public and the Bar if it were made extensively viral, which would shake the confidence of the people in the institution which dispenses justice as the guardian of law and to which they look upon as their savior. The public reposes blind faith and implicit trust in the courts of law that they will get from them justice according to law and nothing less, despite all odds and travails they may face before knocking at its door or being called in," the High Court said. .Advocate KB Khajuria appeared for the petitioner (judgment debtor) who had challenged the executing court's order..[Read Order]