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She further stated that the Court had directed him to personally investigate into the matter and file an affidavit by November 4, 1993 and that the case would be heard on November 5, 1993. She also requested him to talk to her personally on the telephones and numbers thereof had been given. This Court by order dated December 8, 1993 in Afzal & Anr. v. State of Haryana & Ors. [(1994) 1 SCC 425] noted that the first affidavit of M.S. Ahlawat, Superintendent of Police was filed in this Court on November 2, 1993 and another affidavit was filed on November 5, 1993. The Court also had noted that Inspector Ishaq Ahmed was primarily responsible for wrongful and illegal confinement of two minor boys. This Court opined that a detailed enquiry was necessary to find out the truth and the tenor of the averments made in two affidavits of Ahlawat and that the forgery of his signature was made in the first one; veracity of allegations and counter-allegations by the officers and the role played by each of the respondents would be ascertained. Therefore, this Court had directed the District Judge, Faridabad to make an enquiry and to submit the report within six weeks from the date of the receipt of that order. The District Judge had given opportunity to all the persons and he opined and concluded that "the assertion of Ishwar Singh, S.I. did not appear to be veracious and impeccable. The trend and tenor of the statements made by various police officers/officials during the course of the enquiry tended to suggest that they tried to toe the line of one or the other ground of two factions of the Railway Police branding each other with charges and counter-charges. The manner in which Ishwar Singh, the senior-most in the group of police officials concerned with the preparation of counter- affidavits and briefing the Standing Counsel did not object to the filling of a forged affidavit, spoke volumes of the tendentious nature of the stand taken by him". He also held that M.S. Ahlawat was not responsible in the episode. On receipt of the report, by order dated October 19, 1994 in Afzal & Anr. v. State of Haryana & Ors. [JT 1994 (7) SC 167] this Court opined that "the affidavit of Ahlawat dated September 5, 1993, his evidence before the Dist Judge and the report of the latter do establish that the signature of Ahlawat is forged on the affidavit dated September 30, 1993 and the question as' who had forged it needs thorough investigation to take deterrent action. It cannot be lightly brushed aside of the tendency to file false affidavits or fabricated documents or forgery of the document and placing them as part of the record of the Court and they are matters of grave and serious concern. Therefore, we are of the view that a thorough investigation is necessary in this behalf". Accordingly, Director of Central Bureau of Investigation [CBI] was entrusted with the task of investigation, if necessary, with the assistance of hand-writing expert and report was directed to be submitted as expeditiously as possible within three months from the date of the receipt of this Court's order.

The question then is: Whether Ahlawat has committed contempt of the proceedings of this Court and has committed the offence under Section 193, IPC by making false statement and directing forgery of his signature and filing of forged documents in this Court? Shri U.R. Lalit, his learned senior Counsel, strenuously contended that immediately on coming to know that his signature was forged on the carbon copy of the counter-affidavit purported to be dated October 30, 1993, he had informed the learned counsel Ms. Indu on November 2, 1993. He also informed the same to the D.G.P., Shri Kalyan Rudra on the same day. He also had brought to the notice of this Court on the first available opportunity, namely, on November 5, 1993. He had also taken disciplinary action against Krishan Kumar and Randhir Singh respectively for forging his signature and filing the affidavit with false averments in this Court. He had stated in his counter- affidavit filed on November 5, 1993 the true facts. The allegation that he instructed Krishan Kumar, when Ishwar Singh had contacted him on phone to forge his signature on the counter-affidavit, is a fabricated version to buttress the stand of Randhir Singh and sought shelter behind the shadow of superior officer. Since Ahlawat had already taken disciplinary proceedings against Randhir Singh and Krishan Kumar, the version set up by Krishan Kumar and Randhri Singh is to defend themselves in those proceedings. The version that Ishwar Singh telephoned to Ahlawat on October 31, 1993 informing Ahlawat that Krishan Kumar refused to sign in the carbon copy of the counter-affidavit was attested by the Notary on October 30, 1993 which tends corroboration from the counter-affidavit dated October 30, 1993, filed by Randhir Singh. They have an axe to grind against Ahlawat. Therefore, they have made false averments to implicate Ahlawat. In the representation made by Krishan Kumar to the Government to expunge the adverse remarks made by Ahlawat against him, this version has not been stated. The story of authorising to file an affidavit dated October 30, 1993 is inconsistent with the true state of facts. He was not a party to the raid at Agra at the house of Rahim Khan and he would not have filed an affidavit with such a wrong fact. When original counter-affidavit was received by M.S. Ahlawat at 2 a.m. on November 1, 1993 on going through the contents thereof, he found them to be incorrect since he was not a member of the raid party to take the minors into the illegal custody and for wrongful detention. Therefore, he would not have instructed to make such an averment in his counter- affidavit. therefore, he instructed Ms. Indu to file another counter-affidavit with the correct averments which was not done. Consequently, he had engaged another counsel and got the counter-affidavit filed on November 5, 1995 with true facts. He contends that from these circumstances, it is clear that Ahlawat has not made any false averment nor instructed anybody to forge his signature. He did not commit any contempt of the Court. He fairly conceded that he has no argument on the contents of the affidavit filed by Ms. Indu in this Court. He says that Ahlawat may be of mistaken impression in not correcting Ms. Indu, at the time, when she had dictated in her letter addressed to D.G.P., Shri Kalyan Rudra that a counter-affidavit on behalf of Randhir Singh and Ahlawat were already filed. But, in view of the facts stated and the above circumstances, Ahlawat had not committed any offence nor is he liable for contempt proceedings nor has he pleaded with any false averment in the affidavits filed in this Court.