Express court undertaking enforced like an injunction; deliberate breach amounts to contempt and upholds conviction

An express undertaking given to the Court and recorded in the order is enforceable like an injunction when the Court sanctions action on that assurance. Deliberate breach of such an undertaking constitutes contempt of court, and the absence of apology may reinforce the finding of wilful disobedience. Subsequent surrender of possession does not wipe out the original breach. The Supreme Court of India accordingly upheld the contempt conviction and sentence, and the appeal failed.

---

---

Issues: Whether deliberate breach of an express undertaking given to the Court, incorporated in the order, amounted to contempt and justified conviction under the contempt jurisdiction.

Analysis: An express undertaking given to the Court and recorded in the order is not the same as a mere private agreement between parties. Where the Court sanctions a course of action on the faith of such undertaking, breach of that undertaking has the same force as disobedience of an injunction. The absence of apology and the deliberate nature of the violation reinforced the finding of contempt. The subsequent surrender of possession did not erase the initial breach.

Conclusion: The breach of the undertaking was rightly treated as contempt, and the conviction and sentence were upheld.

Final Conclusion: The appeal failed and the contempt conviction stood affirmed.

Ratio Decidendi: An express undertaking given to a court and recorded in its order is enforceable like an injunction, and its deliberate breach constitutes contempt.

---