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Synopsis

The Allahabad High Court recently observed that if in a case, the contemnor succeeds to demonstrate that a particular time or period prescribed for compliance of the judgment and order is disobeyed for some reasonable causes or those were not within the approach of such contemnor or such disobedience is the outcome of some compelling circumstances which created impossibility for the contemnor to comply with the order, the same cannot be termed as wilful or deliberate contempt.

However, the bench of Justice Shree Prakash Singh added that this could be considered on the facts of each and every case.

The court was dealing with a contempt application preferred for alleged non-compliance with the judgment and order passed by the high court in 1992 in a writ petition filed by work-charge Junior Engineers employed with the Lucknow Development Authority (LDA). Through the order, among other directions, the high court had ordered the state government to take steps to obtain regularization of the petitioners within nine months. 

It was alleged by the applicants that despite a specific direction, in place of regularization of their services within nine months from the date of the judgment and order dated 19-08-1992, the same was done w.e.f. 23-07-2003.

The government opposed the contempt allegations. The counsel for the LDA argued that though the post of work-charge Junior Engineers was a centralised services post, which falls within the purview of the U.P. Public Service Commission (UPPSC), there were neither any rules for regularization of daily wage/work-charge employees working on the centralized posts covered under the UPPSC nor there were sufficient number of sanctioned posts of Junior Engineers to accommodate all the daily wage and muster roll employees.

He submitted that therefore, efforts were made by the state authorities to ensure compliance with the judgment and order dated 19-08-1992 passed in the writ petition of the petitioners, as after, creating supernumerary posts by resorting to the cabinet approval, the services of the petitioners were regularized on 23-07-2003.

The high court noted that it was undisputed that except apart the issue with respect to regularization of the services of the petitioners, all other directions/orders passed by the writ court, in the aforesaid writ petitions had been complied with, within period prescribed by the writ court.

Court pointed out that it appeared that while the State Government aimed to regularize the petitioners' services, the delay was due to various writ petitions, special appeals, and S.L.Ps, and not intentional.

Further, court asserted that initially there was no provision under 20-A of U.P. Development Authorities Centralised Service Rules, 1985 regarding regularisation of daily wage or muster roll employee against the post coming under the purview of UPPSC and it was only when the Rules were amended vide 7th  Amendment in 2001, the regularization exercise became possible.

Apart from that, court took note of several letters written by the State Government to the U.P. Public Service Commission, by the time of preparation of the select list of regularization. 

"The effort of the State Government is apparent regarding substantive exercise for regularizing the services of the petitioners", the single judge bench held.

Court said that it is trite law that the willful and deliberate defiance of the order is pivotal aspect in so far as adjudicating the contempt proceedings against a contemnor and it is the factual matrix, which can be interpreted and looked into, to come to a final conclusion that is there any intention of the alleged contemnor to commit defiance of any order or direction passed by the court.

Therefore, in view of the submissions and discussions made before it, the high court opined that no contempt was made out against the contemnors/opposite parties.

Consequently, court discharged the contempt notices and dismissed the contempt application. 

Case Title: Rajendra Singh And Others v. Prabhu Narayan Singh V.C. L.D.A. Lko. And Another