2024 (7) TMI 1633
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....bsp;9638 of 2024, whereby the contempt proceedings before the High Court have been stayed. Had the Supreme Court stayed the operation of the order impugned before it, then this Court would have dismissed the contempt petition ipso facto, as is the normal practice in this Court. However, that has not been done. Rather, the order passed by the Hon'ble Supreme Court has given rise to a problem of Constitutional Conformity vis-a-vis the Court Compliance, besides increasing the pendency before this Court by one more case. One never knows how many more case in execution and contempt petition may have been kept pending throughout the Country because of such orders. 3. The Hon'ble Supreme Court itself has clarified multiple times that the ....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....the Constitution of India. Although, the Supreme Court has used this provision even for passing interim orders in SLP entertained against interim order passed by High Courts in a revision petition against an interim order passed by the District Court in an appeal against an interim order passed by the Civil Court, however, it is for the Supreme Court to decide as to how 'ordinarily' this provision is to be used for entertaining 'special' appeals. But in the present case even this provision has not been invoked. 5. As an answer to the query from the Court, learned counsel for the respondents has clarified that the respondents have not filed any appeal against any order passed by this Court in exercise of its contempt jurisdi....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....ceedings before the High Court, against certain types of orders of Contempt Court under certain circumstances, however, in the present case neither there are any such circumstances, nor has any such special appeal been filed by the respondents against any such order of the Contempt Court. Hence, in the given circumstances, the order of the Supreme Court turns out to be simply in the nature of putting an estoppel on the powers of the High Court exercisable under Article 215 of the Constitution of India and under the Contempt of Courts Act. However, it is highly doubtful if the Supreme Court has any such power to stay operation of Article 215 of the Constitution of India and the Contempt of Courts Act, per se. Probably more caution on the par....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
.... sake of institutional majesty. However, how much drastic and damaging consequences such an order of stay of contempt proceedings can produce, may not have occurred to the Supreme Court in its most wide imaginations. Some of such cases, as is mentioned in the coming paragraph would show as to what and how much detrimental consequences such an order of 'stay of contempt proceedings' can produce. 9. It appears that the Hon'ble Supreme Court has not been apprised in any case so far, as to how such an order can be casually interpreted by the recipient of the order or by a party to the litigation and how drastic but unintended consequences such an order could produce. But this Court has come across several such cases, but is specifi....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....er stark example would be where in appeal, arising from challenge to the land acquisition proceedings, the Court stays the contempt proceedings and not the impugned order or the acquisition proceedings, and the question arises regarding entitlement of the land owner to the interest in terms of Sections 28 and 34 of the Land Acquisition Act. There, the argument could be, and in one case before this Court such an argument has, in fact, come from the State; that it is not liable to pay interest because the proceedings remained pending due to stay by the Court and not due to any fault of the State, on the other hand, the argument of the land owner would be that since in the interregnum, there was no stay of impugned order or of acquisition proc....