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Board of Trustees of Port of Mumbai v. Nikhil N. Gupta & Anr.

Contempt Petition (Civil) · Neutral citation not assigned (Contempt Petition (Civil) No. 277 of 2012, in Special Leave Petition (C) No. 26541 of 2005)Decided 2 Feb 2016
Contempt Petition (Civil) No. 277 of 2012, in Special Leave Petition (C) No. 26541 of 2005
Justice Kurian Joseph · Justice Rohinton Fali Nariman

Background

The Port Trust had filed a contempt petition against Nikhil N. Gupta and others for obstructing delivery of vacant possession of a disputed building despite a decree in the Port Trust's favour. By the time of this hearing, the respondents/contemnors had already surrendered vacant possession of the building and had earlier deposited over Rs. 82 lakh with the Court pending resolution of a separate dispute over mesne profits (compensation for wrongful use of the property).

Decision Breakdown

The contemnor tendered an unconditional apology in person before the Court, and given the affidavits on record and the history of the case, including the surrender of possession, the Court accepted the apology and dropped the contempt proceedings. On the separate question of the deposited amount, the Court rejected the respondents' request to have the money returned to them pending the mesne-profits enquiry, and instead directed that the deposited sum (with interest) be transferred to the Court of Small Causes, Mumbai, where the mesne-profits suit was pending, leaving all contentions on that issue open to be argued there, with a direction to dispose of it within a year.

Lesson Learnt

Courts can treat a genuine apology and compliance (such as surrendering possession) as grounds to drop contempt proceedings, while still ensuring that related financial disputes are directed to the appropriate court for proper adjudication rather than being resolved informally.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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