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Kundan Burnwal & Anr. vs Alok Jain & Ors.

Contempt Petition (Civil) · 2022 INSC 111Decided 28 Jan 2022
Contempt Petition (Civil) No. 939 of 2021
Dr. D.Y. Chandrachud · Sanjiv Khanna

Background

The petitioners had earlier obtained a Supreme Court judgment dated 24 August 2020 in their favour, entitling them to compensation from the respondents at a rate fixed by that judgment. The petitioners subsequently filed a contempt petition alleging that the respondents had not complied with that judgment.

Decision Breakdown

At the hearing, senior counsel for the respondents stated that although the respondents maintained there had been no actual breach of the 2020 judgment, they were nonetheless willing, to bring the dispute to an end, to pay the petitioners compensation at the rate prescribed in that judgment, with any amount already paid to be adjusted, and to pay the balance within two weeks. On the strength of this statement, the Court disposed of the contempt petition without deciding whether contempt had actually occurred.

Lesson Learnt

A contempt petition can often be resolved practically, without a formal finding of guilt, if the alleged contemnor commits on record to complying with the underlying court order within a fixed timeframe, giving both sides a quicker and less adversarial route to closing the dispute.

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

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