Court No. - 4
Case :- CONTEMPT APPLICATION (CIVIL) No. - 3893 of 2021 Applicant :- Dhela Opposite Party :- Shri Satish Kumar, Tehsildar Counsel for Applicant :- Gautam Kumar Dubey
Hon'ble Prakash Padia,J.
The applicant has preferred the present contempt application for non-compliance and willful disobedience of the judgement and order dated 08.12.2020 passed in PUBLIC INTEREST LITIGATION (PIL) No. - 1542 of 2020 (Dhela Vs. State of U.P. and others). The aforesaid order is quoted below:-
"Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that name of the Tehsil in the writ petition is mentioned as Salempur whereas correct name of the tehsil is Bajhaj. As such he may be permitted to correct the same.
Permission is granted.
He shall correct the same during the course of day.
Heard learned counsel for the petitioner as well as learned Standing Counsel appearing for the State respondents and perused the record.
The present PIL has been filed seeking following relief:-
"(i) Issue a writ, order or direction in the nature of mandamus for commanding the respondents authorities to remove the illegal encroachment from Arazi No. 289 Area 0.1340 hectare and Arazi No. 291 area 0.0810 hectare stiuated at village Selharpur Tehsil Barhaj District-Deoria."
The sole grievance of the petitioner is that his representation regarding illegal encroachment made by private respondents upon the aforesaid land of the Gram Sabha is pending since 03.07.2020 and no action has been taken by the concerned authority till date.
Without prejudice to the merits of the case, no useful purpose would be served in keeping the writ petition pending when the proceeding under Section 67 of the Uttar Pradesh Revenue Code, 2006 read with Rule 67 of the Uttar Pradesh Revenue Code Rules, 2016 is pending before the authority concerned.
Under the alleged facts and circumstances of the case, if the aforesaid proceedings are still pending, respondent No. 2 shall inquire into the allegations made by the petitioner after following the procedure prescribed under Section 67 of the Uttar Pradesh Revenue Code, 2006 read with Rule 67 of the Uttar Pradesh Revenue Code Rules, 2016 and pass appropriate order within a period of two months from the date of production of copy of this order. In case the allegations of the petitioner are found to be true the Assistant Collector shall ensure that the encroachments are removed in accordance with law.
With the aforesaid directions, the PIL is disposed off."
Learned counsel for the applicant submits that a copy of the aforesaid order was submitted for compliance before the opposite parties but the opposite parties have willfully not complied with the order and, thus, have committed civil contempt for punishment under Section 12 of the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971. Prima facie a case of contempt has been made out but from perusal of the record and other circumstances, this court is of the opinion that due to Covid-19 and other circumstances, the authorities would not function properly despite this, it is expected from the authorities to comply with the order of this Court in its letter and spirit.
In this view of the matter, considering the facts and circumstances of the case, one more opportunity is afforded to the opposite party to comply with the aforesaid order of the Court within six weeks from the date of production of a certified copy of this order.
Accordingly, the present contempt application is disposed of.
The party shall file computer generated copy of such order downloaded from the official website of High Court Allahabad, self attested by the applicant alongwith a self attested identity proof of the said person (preferably Aadhar Card) mentioning the mobile number to which the said Aadhar Card is linked.
The concerned Court/Authority/Official shall verify the authenticity of such computerized copy of the order from the official website of High Court Allahabad and shall make a declaration of such verification in writing.
Order Date :- 24.9.2021 saqlain