Sen, J. - (1.) This application for proceeding against the opposite parties in contempt arises in the following circumstances:
(2.) The petitioner Satyendra Nath Mitra filed an application in the court of the Police Magistrate, Calcutta for binding down one Samir Kumar Aich under Section 10/ of the Code of Criminal Procedure. The petitioner is an officer of a company described as National Instrument Factory. Samir Kumar Aich who is a sister's son of the petitioner Is also a subordinate employee of the same factory. For certain conduct of Samir Kumar Aich against the rules of factory discipline, the petitioner submitted a report against him; and according to the petitioner, Samir Kumar Aich thereafter threatened and abused the petitioner on several occasions. Accordingly the prayer was made for binding down Samir Kumar Aich. This application was sent to the Officer-in-charge, Tollygunj Police Station for enquiry, and after considering the police report the learned Magistrate on 11th August, 1961 drew up proceedings under Section 107 of the Code of Criminal Procedure against Samir Kumar Alch. While the proceeding was pending but before any witness was examined In court, the Court Inspector filed an application before the Court on 2nd January, 1962 stating that one Dr. S. C. Mitra closely related to the parties had undertaken to see that no breach of peace would take place, and that the District authorities after considering the matter were of opinion that the proceeding may be dropped and, therefore, under a communication received by him from the Superintendent of Police, 24 Parganas, he prayed that the proceeding might be dropped. The learned Magistrate heard the parties on this petition, but before he had passed any final order, the petitioner came up to this court on 5th February 1962 with the present application for proceeding against the opposite parties in contempt, opposite party No. 1 being the Superintendent of Police, 24 Parganas, opposite party No. 2, Dr. S. C. Mitra, and opposite party No. 3, the Court Inspector of Alipore.
(3.) The question is whether in the circumstances the filing of such an application by the Court Inspector under the instruction of the Superintendent of police, 24 Parganas and at the instance of Dr. S. C. Mitra amounted to contempt of court. The Superintendent of Police in his affidavit has stated that he acted in good faith under rule 66 of the Police Regulations, Bengal, which provides that no Court Inspector should file an application under sec. 494 Cr. P. C. for withdrawal of a case without the order of the Police Superintendent. In other words, the explanation of the Police Superintendent is that he made only a sort of enquiry for deciding whether the case should be withdrawn under Section 494 Cr. P. C. and gave a direction to the Inspector of Police for such withdrawal and that he did not commit any contempt of court.;