material time no stay order was operative; as they appeared to be entertaining the belief that since a Letters Patent Appeal was preferred, the matter had once again become subjudice and that, therefore, there was no legal obligation to grant the benefits accruing due to the petitioner pursuant to the decision of the learned single Judge. This belief, which appears to have been entertained by the concerned authorities, is wholly unwarranted. Once a case is decided, it is the bounden duty of the State and its subordinates to implement, with the utmost expedition, the said decision. In a Government which is ruled by law, there must be complete awareness to carry out faithfully and honestly the decisions rendered by courts of law after effective adjudication. Then only will private individuals, organisations and institutions learn to respect the decisions of courts. In absence of such attitude on the part of all concerned, chaotic conditions might arise and the functions assigned to the courts of law under the Constitution might be rendered a futile exercise. It requires to be emphasised, in this connection, that mere preferment of an appeal does not automatically operate as a stay of the decision under appeal and that till an application for stay is moved and granted by the appellate court, or, in the alternative, the court which rendered the decision is moved and grants an interim stay of the decision pending the preferment of an appeal and grant of stay by the appellate court, the decision continues to be operative. Indeed, non-compliance with the decision on the mere ground that an appeal is contemplated to be preferred or is actually preferred, and that, therefore, the matter is sub-judice, may amount to contempt of court https://hcservices.ecourts.gov.in/hcservices/ punishable under the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971. The
