A bench of Justices Pankaj Mithal and Ahsanuddin Amanullah allowed an appeal filed in the case of I Ismail Vs N Raman & Anr against the Madras High Court's order of July 5, 2024.

 

The appellant instituted a writ petition in 2023 wherein an interlocutory order was passed on August 17, 2023.

 

Against this interlocutory order, a writ appeal was preferred wherein the effect and operation of the said interlocutory order were stayed on September 26, 2023. Thereafter, the writ petition itself was withdrawn and was dismissed. However, in the contempt proceeding initiated by the complainant about the disobedience of the order of August 17, 2023, passed in the writ appeal, the order impugned before the high court had been passed on July 05, 2024.

 

The appellant contended that once the writ petition itself had been withdrawn, all interim orders or interlocutory orders passed therein ceased to exist and therefore, there was no occasion for the contempt court to pass any order much less the order of July 05, 2024.

 

"We are in agreement with the submission of the counsel for the appellant that when the writ petition itself has been dismissed as withdrawn, no interlocutory order passed therein survives so as to permit the contempt court to initiate any proceeding or to pass any orders therein," the bench said.

 

The high court in its impugned order had said that the allegations were serious, which were all raised against the first respondent.

 

"If at all the Special Officer finds that the funds are misappropriated or withdrawn without furnishing any details of the accounts, the Special Officer is competent to initiate action both under the Criminal law and under the Act and Rules. The persons who have involved in misappropriation of public funds are liable to be prosecuted. Therefore, the Special Officer has to initiate action," the high court had said.