Sanjay Kumar vs Y.K. Chaubey And Anr

Sandeep Sharma, J

By way of instant petition, prayer has been made on behalf of the petitioner for initiation of the contempt proceedings against the respondents for their having willfully and intentionally disobeyed the mandate contained in order dated 21.6.2022, passed by this Court in CWP No. 2683 of 2015, whereby this court while disposing of the petition having been filed by the petitioner, directed the respondents to consider and decide the representation having been filed by the petitioner, seeking therein compassionate appointment, afresh in terms of policy framed in terms of settlement dated 10.10.1991, expeditiously, preferably within four weeks, without insisting upon cut-off date. Since despite there being aforesaid direction, respondents failed to consider and decide the representation of the afresh, petitioner has approached this court in the instant proceedings for initiation of contempt proceedings.

Pursuant to notice issued in the instant proceedings respondents have filed reply. Mr. Vijay Arora, learned counsel for the respondents while making this Court peruse reply filed by the respondents vehemently argued that in compliance of judgment alleged to have been violated, respondents have considered and decided the representation of the petitioner afresh without insisting upon the cutoff date and as such, no action of the respondents can be said to be contumacious.

Mr. Sanjeev K. Suri, learned counsel for the petitioner while refuting aforesaid submission made by the learned counsel for the respondents argued that since respondents while passing fresh order in terms of judgment alleged to have been violated rendered same grounds as were rendered earlier while rejecting the case of the petitioner for compassionate appointment, order dated 28.7.2022, passed in purported compliance of judgment alleged to have been violated cannot be said to be compliance in the eye of law. He submitted that by passing order dated 28.7.2022, an attempt has been made by the respondents to hoodwink the court. He submitted that respondents rejected the claim of the petitioner vide order dated 28.7.2022, solely on the ground of delay, which ground was taken by them in the reply and this Court vide judgment dated 21.6.2022, directed the respondents to consider and decide the claim of the petitioner afresh without insisting upon the cutoff date.

Having heard learned counsel for the parties and perused material available on record, especially order dated 28.7.2022 Annexure P-2, passed in purported compliance of judgment alleged to have been violated, this court finds force in the submission of Mr. Vijay Arora, learned counsel for the respondents that judgment alleged to have been violated stands duly complied with. Vide judgment alleged to have been violated, direction was issued to consider and decide the case of the petitioner afresh without insisting on cutoff date, but at no point of time direction was issued to the respondents to not to rake up the issue on delay, if any, in approaching the authorities for compassionate appointment.

Careful perusal of order dated 28.7.2022, passed in purported compliance of judgment alleged to have been violated, reveals that respondents considered the case of the petitioner afresh without insisting upon the cutoff date. Question with regard to correctness of the reasons assigned in the order dated 28.7.2022 passed in the purported compliance of the judgment alleged to have been violated, cannot be gone into in these proceedings, rather in these proceedings, court is only required to see whether direction contained in order alleged to have been violated stands complied with or not. Correctness and legality of the same can be laid challenge by way of substantive petition only.

Consequently in view the above, this Court finds no action of the respondents to be contumacious and accordingly, nothing remains to be adjudicated in the instant proceedings and as such, same are closed. Notices discharged. However, liberty is reserved to the petitioner to lay challenge, if any, to order dated 28.7.2022 before appropriate court of law by way of appropriate proceedings, if so advised.