Civil Contempt Petition No. 1350 of 2024 (High Court of Karnataka, Division Bench of Anu Sivaraman and Vijaykumar A. Patil JJ.; oral order authored by Vijaykumar A. Patil J.), decided 13.10.2025 — Filed under Sections 11 and 12 of the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971 r/w Article 215 of the Constitution of India, alleging willful disobedience by Accused Nos. 2 to 6 of the learned Single Judge's order dated 23.06.2023 in W.P.No.2074/2023, in which the HCGP had undertaken that the Tahasildar's order dated 10.01.2023 would be implemented only against persons party to the proceedings before respondent No.1, with any eviction only after affording an opportunity of hearing, and the writ petition was dismissed for want of locus-standi of the petitioner-Society. Subsequent events: by common order dated 26.09.2024 disposing of W.P.No.13659/2024 and connected matters, mandamus was issued in W.P.No.17208/2024 to implement the order/notice dated 10.01.2023, while W.P.Nos.13659, 18606, 19011 and 19012 of 2024 were dismissed with liberty to establish rights before the competent civil court in terms of the Trial Court's findings in OS No.665 of 2007 and connected suits; that order was challenged in W.A.Nos.1505/2024 and 1611/2024, in which the coordinate bench directed maintenance of status quo as to possession (interim orders dated 09.10.2024 and 30.10.2024). Held: in view of those interim orders, the order dated 23.06.2023 cannot be implemented and no willful disobedience of the order or undertaking is found as alleged; contentions of dispossession by goonda elements colluding with revenue and police authorities cannot be gone into in the contempt proceedings; contempt proceedings dropped with liberty to the complainant to work out his remedies in accordance with law; merits of all contentions kept open.
