Research › Search › Judgment

Allahabad High Court · body

2004 DIGILAW 211 (ALL)

SADDIQUE KHAN v. A K MISRA

2004-02-04

S.P.MEHROTRA

body2004
S. P. MEHROTRA, J. The present contempt petition has been filed under Article 215 of the Constitution of India, and Sections 10/12 of the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971. It is, inter alia, prayed in the contempt petition that the opposite parties be punished for committing contempt of this Court by flouting the orders dated 10-9- 1992 and 24-2-1993 passed in Civil Misc. Writ Petition No. 32661 of 1992, Sadik Khan v. IIIrd Additional District Judge, Rampur and others. 2. A perusal of the affidavit accompanying the contempt petition shows that by the said order dated 10- 9-1992 passed in the aforesaid Civil Misc. Writ Petition No. 32661 of 1992, this Court directed the parties to maintain status quo, and the said order was directed to remain in force until 16-12-1992. 3. By the said order dated 24-2-1993, the said order dated 10-9-1992 passed in the aforesaid Civil Misc. Writ Petition No. 32661 of 1992 was directed to remain in operation upto 30-4-1993. 4. This contempt petition was filed on 30-3-1993. 5. By the order dated 31-3-1993, the contempt petition was directed to be listed in the next week. 6. It is, thus, evident that no notice has as yet been issued to the opposite parties on the contempt petition. 7. In view of the aforesaid, I am of the opinion that no useful purpose will be served by issuing notices to the opposite parties now after a lapse of about eleven years since the filing of the contempt petition in the year 1993. 8. There is one more aspect of the matter. Section 20 of the Contempt of the Courts Act, 1971 provides as follows: "20. Limitation for actions for contempt.- No Court shall initiate any proceedings for contempt, either on its own motion or otherwise, after the expiry of a period of one year from the date on which the contempt is alleged to have been committed". 9. In view of the aforesaid provisions of Section 20 also, it is not permissible to initiate any proceedings for contempt against the opposite parties now after a lapse of about 11 years since the alleged commission of contempt in the year 1993. 10. In the circumstances, the contempt petition is dismissed as having become infructuous. Petition dismissed.