Mitali Palnitkar
Published on: March 11, 2022 at 21:04 IST
The Supreme Court ruled that even if the Decree or Order against which the Contempt is Alleged is Executable, the Jurisdiction of the Court under the Contempt of Courts Act will not Cease.
According to the Court, it is immaterial whether the Decree is Executable or not. It opines that the question that needs to be considered s whether the conduct of the Contemnor Warrants Punishment for Contempt.
The Contempt Plea was filed pursuant to a Supreme Court Order wherein it had directed the Respondents to deposit the amount which was asked by the High Court to be deposited within 8 weeks.
The Supreme Court had clarified that the Non-Compliance with the Order shall be taken seriously and would be considered as Non-Compliance with the Supreme Court Order.
The Respondents submitted before the Supreme Court that the Contempt Proceedings should not have been initiated against them as not complying with the Order would only have made the Arbitrator’s Award Enforceable.
However, the Supreme Court disagreed with the submission of the Respondents. It observed that if a party failed to comply with the Order of the Court then it is left with only two options that is either request the Court for more time or explain to the Court satisfactorily as to why the party was unable to comply with the Order of the Court.
The Court stated that if a party does not take any of the options mentioned then it is said to have been in Contempt. Therefore, it ruled that the Respondents were Guilty of Contempt.
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