2016 (9) TMI 1491

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....nent to note that the Appellant has already undergone the sentence. 2. Undisputed facts giving rise to the present litigation in a nutshell are as under: The Appellant had given an undertaking in I.A. No. 11 of 1985 in O.S. No. 231 of 1972 before the IXth Assistant Judge, City Civil Court, Hyderabad that he would "return the documents on an undertaking to produce them whenever directed". The mother of the Appellant, Late Sharda Bai was a litigant in the afore-stated case, which had been disposed of in 1981. Some of the documents, which had been produced by the mother of the Appellant in the said case, were required by her and as she was unable to remain present before the Court due to her old age, she had requested the Appellant to make ....

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.... further submitted that his house was "badly hit by the cyclone in the year 1999, as a result of which his house was submerged into the flood water consequent to that it was collapsed as his house was built up of mud and covered with asbestos sheets resulting most of their belongings were vanished". Thus, the said documents were neither with the Appellant nor were they available at that time. According to the Appellant, the case in which the said documents were required, was filed by the relatives of the Appellant and they had filed an application for production of the said documents to pressurise the Appellant in their family affairs. 6. Thus, it was the case of the Appellant before the Court that it was impossible for him to return the d....

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....urt; 11. Upon perusal of the above mentioned definition of "civil contempt", it is very clear that so as to hold somebody guilty of contempt of court, the concerned person must have willfully disobeyed any judgment, decree, direction, order, writ or any other process of a court or should have willfully committed breach of an undertaking given to a court. 12. In the instant case, from the facts stated hereinabove, it is crystal clear that the Appellant had no intention of committing breach of the undertaking given to the court. It was physically impossible for the Appellant to produce the documents as the documents had already been given by him to his mother, on whose behalf he had collected the same from the court and the said documents h....