The High Court dismissed a contempt petition filed against the State of Maharashtra. The Court held that an authority rejecting a representation regarding rehabilitation of affected persons does not constitute civil contempt, and the petition was misconceived.
Contempt petition dismissed for failure to make out a case of civil contempt.
This page shows the compact analysis of this judgement. The full analysis — procedural history, issue-by-issue holdings with ratio and obiter, advocates, and paragraph-level evidence for every claim — is being added to the record in batches and will appear here when this judgement has been through it.
05.ASCP253.14.doc
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION
CONTEMPT PETITION NO. 253 OF 2014 IN
PUBLIC INTEREST LITIGATION NO. 221 OF 2009
Shri Baban Kondiba Kadam … Petitioner
Vs
1 State of Maharashtra & Ors. ... Respondents
Ms. S. S. Wadekar for the Petitioner.
Mrs. R.A. Salunkhe, AGP, for the Respondent-State.
CORAM : S.C. DHARMADHIKARI & R.I. CHAGLA, JJ.
TUESDAY, 04TH FEBRUARY, 2020
P.C. :
1 Having heard both sides, we f i nd that the petitioner
has failed to make out a case of civil contempt.
2 The Contempt Petition is argued as if it is a second
round. It is argued like a writ petition. In the earlier round, a PIL
was f i led by the present petitioner claiming that those who are affected by the Chaskaman Dam Project are not rehabilitated in
accordance with law. Therefore, the grievance was directed to be
SRP 1/2
05.ASCP253.14.doc
considered by passing an appropriate order.
3 That the authority passes an order not accepting the claim of the alleged affected persons does not mean that a civil contempt is committed by the said authority. There was no direction to grant the relief based on the contents of the representation made to that authority. The direction was only to consider that representation and no order of a Court can be containing a command to disobey or f l out the law. The representation has to be considered in accordance with law and if no merit is found therein, it must be rejected. Such an act cannot
be, by any stretch of imagination, termed as civil contempt.
4 The Contempt Petition is misconceived and is
dismissed.
R.I. CHAGLA, J. S.C. DHARMADHIKARI, J.
SRP 2/2
2 issues framed by the court
Whether an authority rejecting a representation regarding rehabilitation constitutes civil contempt.
Whether a contempt petition filed like a writ petition should be treated as a second round of litigation.
Shri Baban Kondiba Kadam
State of Maharashtra
S.C. Dharmadhikari
R.I. Chagla
As recorded by the court registry
Judgements on the same questions, provisions and authorities, from every court
