Contempt petition must be decided on merits where no stay exists, and the pending appeal deferred until then.

Where an order has not been stayed, a contempt petition must be disposed of on merits so the court can examine whether there has been deliberate violation of a subsisting order and preserve the order's enforceability. The pending appeal should not be heard before that contempt petition is decided. Directions were issued to dispose of the contempt petition within three months and to defer hearing of the appeal until then.

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Issues: Whether the contempt petition ought to have been disposed of on merits and whether the pending appeal should be heard before disposal of the contempt petition.

Analysis: The order under challenge had not been stayed by the Division Bench. In those circumstances, the contempt petition required disposal on merits so that the question of deliberate violation of the subsisting order could be examined and the enforceability of the court's order not diluted. The pending appeal was also directed not to be taken up before such disposal.

Outcome: Directions were issued to dispose of the contempt petition within three months and to defer hearing of the pending appeal until then.

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