Govt Officers Should Not Be Summoned To Court 'At The Drop A Hat' : Supreme Court

The Supreme Court has observed that the practice of summoning authorities of the State to Court at the drop of a hat undermines the majesty of the Court. The Apex Court was of the view that insisting on the presence of officers in court wastes precious time that could be spent in the discharge of their duties and that such a practice must not be adopted as a routine.

In this regard the division bench of Justice B R Gavai and Justice J B Pardiwala observed:

“No doubt that the authorities of the State are bound to comply with the directions issued by the High Court.In a matter wherein there is a patent disregard and disobedience to the directions issued by the Court, the Court would be justified in securing the presence of the officers.

However, such a practice should not be adopted as a routine. The Officers of the State Governments are required to discharge their duties towards the citizens of the country. Their presence in the Court wastes precious time which could be otherwise utilized for rendering service to the citizens. Issuing such directions at the drop of the hat, rather than upholding the majesty of the Court, undermines it.”

The Top Court was considering a challenge to an order passed by a Division Bench of the Patna High Court that issued a bailable warrant to the Additional Chief Secretary, Educational Department.

Senior Advocate A N S Nadkarni, appearing for the State of Bihar, submitted that the order was passed in spite of a detailed affidavit of compliance being placed on record. The petitioner also placed on record orders in 143 matters passed by the Bench consisting of one of the Judges who passed the impugned order, where Senior Officers of the State Government were asked to personally appear before the High Court. The Apex Court also took note of the submission of the Respondent that the directions of the High Court had been complied with and he had no grievance on the inaction of State Officers.

Accordingly the order of the Patna High Court was stayed by the Apex Court.

Case Details: State of Bihar V. Ghanshyam Prasad Singh, Special Leave to Appeal No. 15378/2023

Citation : 2023 LiveLaw (SC) 548

Click Here To Read/Download Order