M/S Jagdalpur Motors vs. Shri Ritvik Ranjanam Pandey (Secretary Revenue) Ministry Of Finance

Facts

The petitioner, M/s Jagdalpur Motors, through its Director Shri Niraj Sharma, filed a contempt petition before the High Court of Chhattisgarh. This contempt petition was filed in relation to a writ appeal preferred before the Division Bench of the same High Court. The writ appeal was against an order passed by a Single Bench of the High Court on November 28, 2022, in WPT No. 252/2022. The petitioner sought disposal of the contempt petition with liberty to revive it if necessary after the Division Bench decides the writ appeal.

Held

The Court allowed the prayer made by the learned counsel for the applicant. It was held that the contempt petition should be disposed of, granting the applicant liberty to revive it if the exigency arises after the decision of the Hon'ble Division Bench of this Court. The Court's reasoning was based on the pendency of the writ appeal before the Division Bench, which would likely address the underlying issues. Therefore, the contempt petition was disposed of with the specified liberty.

Key Issues

1. Whether the contempt petition should be disposed of with liberty to revive it, pending the decision of the Division Bench on a related writ appeal? The petitioner argued that since a writ appeal against the Single Bench's order is pending before the Division Bench, the contempt petition should be kept in abeyance. They requested liberty to revive the contempt proceedings if circumstances warranted after the Division Bench's decision. The respondents did not record any specific arguments in the judgment.