Punjab-Haryana High Court
Punjab And Haryana High Court Bar ... vs Union Of India (Uoi) And Ors. on 30 May, 2007
Equivalent citations: (2007)147PLR565
Author: Rajesh Bindal
Bench: Rajesh Bindal
JUDGMENT M.M. Kumar, J.
1. The Punjab and Haryana High Court Bar Association (for brevity, 'the Bar Association') has filed the instant petition as a Public Interest Litigation under Article 226 of the Constitution seeking various facilities like electricity and water in respect of Bar rooms, Bar Library, office of the Bar Association and Bar lounge etc. The letter dated 29.3.2005 (p-2) sent to the Registrar General of the Punjab and Haryana High Court-respondent No. 4 (for brevity, 'the High Court') by the Under Secretary to Government of India, Ministry of Law and Justice, declining the request of the Bar Association, as routed through the High Court for not effecting any recovery of water/electricity charges from the Bar Association, is also subject matter of challenge and a prayer has been made for quashing the same.
2. The Bar Association has claimed that it regulates and controls the facilities including the space for the comfortable sitting of the member-advocates and for parking of their vehicles. It also render service to the member advocates for supplying daily cause list to them and provides a platform to all those members to raise their collective grievance. The petition has been filed by way of Public Interest Litigation claiming that the facilities claimed by the petitioners is not only for the members of the Bar Association but would also ensure to the benefits of general litigant public who visit the High Court premises in a large number every working day in connection with their cases. The petition has been filed in pursuance to resolution dated 30.1.2007, which has been placed on record. The basis of the claim is a letter sent by the Supreme Court Bar Association showing (P-1) that the payment of electricity charges/air-conditioning charges in respect of the Bar Libraries, Bar Rooms, Bar Association Office, Bar Lounge are borne by Hon'ble Supreme Court and no payment is made by the Bar Association of the Supreme Court. The letter dated 16.7.2004 (P-l) has been placed on record in support of the aforementioned claim. It has also been asserted that the Bar Association has been staking its claim that it is not liable to pay any water, electricity charges and representation in that connection was routed through the Registrar General of the High Court. In response to the aforementioned representation, the Ministry of Law and Justice Government of India, has addressed a communication to the Registrar General of the High Court, dated 29.3.2005 (P-2), stating that no free water/electricity could be supplied to the Bar Association. The aforementioned communication dated 29.3.2005 was sent to the Secretary of the Bar Association on 16.9.2006 (P-3) by the Registrar General of this Court. The Bar Association again made representations dated 12.7.2006 (P-3A) and 27.10.2006 (P-4) to the High Court as well as to the worthy Law Minister (P-5 and P-6) respectively). In the absence of any concrete reply, the Bar Association has approached this Court with the aforementioned prayer.
3. The stand of respondent No. 1-Union of India is that ever since the inception of the High Court, the electricity and water supply charges of the High Court are paid by the High Court. In para 2 of the written statement filed on behalf of respondent No. ), the plea is that since the inception of the High Court the charges for consumption of electricity and water in all parts of the High Court building, which include original Bar Library and Bar rooms is borne by the High. Court. Similar norm is followed by the Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Allahabad High Courts. Although it is claimed that in Andhra Pradesh some maximum limit of consumption of electricity has been imposed. Reference has also been made to the Sikkim. Kerala and other High Courts where different practices are followed. In para 6, the plea taken is that the advocates are neither part of the High Court as claimed by them nor the staff of the State Government as their business is of private nature and their work is not connected with any Government service.
4. However, the stand of the U.T. Administration-Respondent Nos. 2 and 3 in para 6 of their reply is that 'this Hon'ble Court (on the administrative side) has been duly paying the requisite charges/dues against such metered connections standing in its name. Any enhancement of load in the name of the Bar Association in respect of metered connections standing in the name of this Hon'ble Court (on the administrative side) is clearly and obviously impermissible. In para 2 of the reply, a similar stand has been taken by emphasizing that free electricity/water could not be given to anyone. Referring to the letter dated 16.7.2004, sent by the Supreme Court Bar Association (P-1), the stand of the U.T. Chandigarh, is as under:
It is clearly and expressly stated in Annexure P-1 itself that the payment of the said electricity charges is borne by the Hon'ble Supreme Court. It is indubitably apparent on the petitioner's own showing that even in the Hon'ble Supreme Court, the consumption of electricity by the Bar Association or its members is not free but paid for. Even though, therefore, the practice followed administratively in the Hon'ble Supreme Court regarding payment of electricity charges does not constitute a legal or judicial precedent, the practice as evidenced by Annexure P-1 also shows clearly that the claim of the petitioner Association for payment of electricity and water charges by the respondent Administration is completely misdirected____. It is also necessary to point out in this context that ever since the inception of the High Court, this Hon'ble Court (on the administrative side, through and in the name of the Registrar of the High Court) has been paying for the consumption of electricity and water in all parts of the High Court building including the original Bar Library and the Bar Rooms....
5. The U.T. Administration has also highlighted a portion of the representation dated 27.10.2006 (P-4) in order to buttress its stand that the water/electricity charges are always paid for by the concerned High Court. The aforementioned extract as quoted in Para 2, read as under:
It is submitted for your kind information that in all the High Courts of the country and also the Supreme Court of India, the running bills of electricity and water of respective basis are borne by the concerned institution like the concerned High Court and the Supreme Court of India. A copy of the letter is attached as Annexure A-1.
6. The High Court-respondent No. 4 through its Registrar General has taken a categorical stand that the Bar Association is an integral part of the High Court and, therefore, water and electricity charges have all along been borne by the High Court and would in future also be borne by the High Court. Para 2 of the Affidavit filed by the Registrar General which makes the stand of the High Court explicit reads as under:
2. That the High Court Bar Association is an integral part of the High Court of Punjab and Haryana, Chandigarh. The High Court Building includes the Bar complex, as an integral part thereof. The building, that houses the Bar Association is integrated with the Building of the High Court and cannot, therefore, be considered a separate part. The water and electricity expenses of the Bar Association have all along been borne by the High Court and would therefore be borne by this Court in future, except where the Bar Association leases out any part of the premises for commercial purposes in which eventuality the Bar Association shall bear the electricity and water charges for such premises." Having heard learned Counsel for the parties and in view of the stand of the U.T. Administration as well as that of the High Court, we are of the view that this petition deserves to be accepted. The U.T. Administration in paras 2 and 6 of the reply has taken a unequivocal stand that the expenses in respect of water and electricity have always been borne by the High Court and, therefore, no free electricity/Water could be furnished by the U.T. administration. The High Court in its affidavit has categorically asserted that the High Court building including the Bar Complex is an integral part thereof and the building that houses the Bar Association is integrated with the building of the High Court and the same cannot be considered as a separate part. The water and electricity expenses of the Bar Association have all along been borne and would in future also be borne by the High Court. In other words, the water and electricity charges, which are incurred in respect of Bar Rooms, Bar Library, office of the Bar Association and Bar Lounge would be considered to be the part of the expenses incurred by the High Court.
7. We are further of the view that the prayer of the Bar Association for enhancement of its electricity load has to be routed through the Registrar General of the High Court. The Registrar General after due consideration may sent an appropriate requisition to the U.T. Administration so as to sanction and release the adequate load to meet the needs of the Bar Association. Mr. R.S. Mittal, learned Senior Counsel of the Bar Association states that a requisition would be sent to the Registrar General of the High Court within two weeks. If any such requisition is received by the Registrar General then the same must be forwarded to the U.T. Administration expeditiously without any delay so as to avoid extreme inconvenience to the members of the Bar Association and general litigant public to sweat in sweltering hot Bar Rooms.
8. At this stage, a word on the stand of Union of India-respondent No. 1 would be necessary. It is true that the Bar Association cannot claim facility of electricity and water free of cost. It is equally true that the Bar Complexes, which include Bar Rooms, Bar Library, Litigant Hall, officer of the Bar Association and Bar Lounge are integral part of the Judicial Court Complexes. This is more true in the present case because the High Court has taken a clear stand that the Bar Complex along with Bar Library etc. are integral part of the High Court building. The stand taken by the High Court is unequivocal and clear besides being fair and just. It has been clarified that the leased premises would naturally stand on different footing.
9. We may hasten to add that lawyer chambers are also not included for this benefit. The stand of respondent No. 1 in para 6 that the advocates are not the integral part of the High Court as claimed by them because 'nature of their business is of a private nature' is absolutely unwarranted. It is well settled that the nature of the duty which an advocate discharges is in the nature of public duty and inseparable part of the judicial system. Making arrangement and accommodation for the Bar must be considered as a part and parcel of Court complex. Ordinarily the Court is consisted of a Presiding Officer, litigants and the advocates. Therefore, the minimum requirement of providing the advocates the facility to sit by constructing Bar Rooms and setting up Bar Library cannot be overlooked by any vigilant State, which include the High Court being a powerful wing of the State in addition to Legislature and Executive. Therefore, we cannot countenance with the stand taken by respondent No. 1.
In view of the above detailed discussion, we conclude and issue the following directions:
(i) The Bar Rooms, Bar Library, office of the Bar Association and Bar Lounge are part and parcel of the High Court and , therefore, their water and electricity charges should be borne by the High Court as had been done in the past. Therefore, the electricity and water bills which are unpaid would also be paid by the High Court.
(ii) The Bar Association shall forward its request for additional energy requirement to the Registrar General of the High Court within a period of 15 days and the same shall be considered by the High Court. Thereafter, it shall be forwarded to the U.T. Administration-respondent Nos. 2 and 3 without any undue delay. The U.T. Administration-respondent Nos. 2 and 3 shall sanction and release the additional electricity load as per the proposal forwarded by the Registrar General of the High Court; and
(iii) The water and electricity charges of such premises which are leased out by the Bar Association for commercial purposes with the permission of Hon'ble the Chief Justice, have to be borne by the Bar Association. It is also made clear that the chambers constructed for the members of the Bar Association are not considered as part of the High Court building and, therefore no benefit would ensue to the chambers being occupied by the members of the Bar Association or any other pat of the building which has been leased on commercial purposes.
The petition stands disposed of in the above terms.