Contempt proceedings
Munish Kumar Garg
(Querist) 08 August 2012
This query is : Resolved
Hello members
The issue is that my client was alleged under the Contempt of Courts Act and a contempt petition was filled by the petitioner against my client alleging that he committed an offence under his official capacity by dis-obeying the order of the court.
The basic dispute is that the petitioner filed a civil suit i.e. Suit for permanent Injunction against like Municipal Committee, Irrigation and Canal Department etc., we are for the Canal Department i.e. holding the post of XEN.
The dispute is that some land of canal department was given to the Municipal Committee without any rent/lease as Municipal Committee wants a small piece of land for collecting the Octori by building a booth there and in pursuance of their request the Canal Department delivers the possession of a piece of land to Municipal Committee, but after sometime Municipal Committee stopped collection Octori and gives that Booth on lease, without prior permission of Canal Department, to some private person. After sometime that private person vacates the premises and then Municipal Committee again gives the Booth to some other private person for opening a shop. When the Canal Department comes to know that the land was leased by the Municipal Committee to some private person without prior permission then Canal Department requested to Municipal Committee to give back their land with vacant possession. In pursuance of that Municipal Committee issued the notice to the lessee for vacating the premises but he refuses to accept it and even a report is noted by the postman on the back of that notice of refusal.
Then after that the 2nd private person filed a suit for permanent injunction for restraining them from dispossession of Booth and the defendants took their plea that as supra, and the case was withdrawn by the plaintiff "DISMISSED AS WITHDRAWN" after recording the statement of parties i.e. the statement of Plaintiff and statement of XEN of Canal Department was recorded only, in which it is evidenced by the XEN that he will purse as per the law for getting the possession.
In pursuance of that Canal Department issued letter to the Municipal Committee for delivering the possession and they issued again notice to the Plaintiff that he will deliver the possession of the Booth within 30 days failing which they will come and demolish the Booth, but the plaintiff did not vacate the Booth and after 30 days Municipal Committee and Canal Department Officers went at the spot with Bulldozer and demolished the Booth.
The plaintiff then filed the Contempt petition before the Hon'ble High Court against the XEN of Canal Department, as he is only officer who comes in witness box for giving evidence besides Plaintiff himself and he filed the contempt petition against the XEN only and no other official was named in the petition.
My main query is that if a civil suit was withdrawn by the himself and no finding of the court comes out and even their is no dis-obedience of the court order, as the suit was withdrawn as dismissed by the plaintiff himself on his statement, then is their any violation of the ld. lower court for which contempt petition was filed against the XEN.
If not so, then please give me some citation on the above query point.
Thanks
Munish Kumar Garg
Advocate
Chanchal Nag Chowdhury
(Expert) 09 August 2012
There does not seem to be a willful violation of the court's order.
