Contempt referral for non-compliance with tribunal orders may follow if departmental authorities still disregard a fixed compliance direction.

A Tribunal noted non-compliance with its earlier direction by departmental authorities and considered whether the matter could be referred to the High Court for contempt action under the Contempt of Courts Act. It reasoned that the reference framework could extend to courts and tribunals judicially subordinate to the High Court under Article 227, and that persistent disregard of its order could justify contempt referral. At the same time, it gave the Deputy Collector one final opportunity to comply and dispose of the pending customs matter within a fixed period, with referral to the High Court to follow if the direction was not obeyed.

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Issues: Whether, in view of the non-compliance with the Tribunal's earlier order, the matter could be referred to the High Court for contempt action and whether a further direction for disposal of the pending customs matter was warranted.

Analysis: The Tribunal noted that its earlier direction had not been complied with by the departmental authorities. It observed that the expression "courts subordinate to it" in Section 10 of the Contempt of Courts Act is wide enough to include courts judicially subordinate to the High Court, and that the High Court's supervisory jurisdiction under Article 227 of the Constitution extends over courts and tribunals within its jurisdiction. On that basis, the Tribunal held that it was entitled to refer the matter to the High Court for contempt proceedings if its order continued to be ignored. At the same time, it granted one further opportunity to the Deputy Collector to comply and dispose of the matter within a fixed time.

Conclusion: The Tribunal directed the Deputy Collector to dispose of the matter within two months and held that failure to do so would justify referral to the High Court under Section 10 of the Contempt of Courts Act.

Ratio Decidendi: When a subordinate authority disregards a Tribunal's order, the Tribunal may invoke the contempt jurisdiction framework and, where appropriate, refer the matter to the High Court for contempt action, while also issuing a compliance direction within a fixed time.

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