Disobedience of court orders strikes at the root of rule of law: Delhi High Court holds party in contempt

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday held a party in civil contempt, observing that disobedience of court orders, if permitted, will result in striking at the root of the rule of law on which our system of governance is based [Indra Pasricha v. Deepika Chauhan & Ors]..Justice Subramonium Prasad opined that an undertaking given to the Court has to be respected and parties cannot be permitted to circumvent it on the ground that they were not involved in the suit and have not given the undertaking..Case in a nutshell.The petitioner inherited an upscale south-Delhi property from her deceased sister. The petitioner’s brother-in-law — married to another sister of the petitioner — lived on the ground floor of the property. When the other sister died, the husband claimed rights on the ground floor. Subsequently, they drew up a settlement agreement that allowed him to stay there till his death but transferred the ownership rights to the petitioner upon his demise. The Delhi High Court decreed this arrangement in terms of the Order XXIII Rule 1/3 read with Section 151 of the Code of Civil Procedure (CPC) on March 14, 2012. The contempt case was filed by the petitioner when the brother-in-law’s relatives claimed a right on the ground floor property relying on a registered will executed in 2009..The Other Side.The senior counsel appearing for the respondents in the contempt case submitted that there was no contempt till the ownership of the property in question was decided, and argued that the remedy of the petitioner does not lie in filing a suit, but by executing a decree. A suit, he said, filed by the petitioner for recovery of the property in question was pending before a Civil Court..Observations and Decision.The Court found it “well settled” that though broadly a person, not being a party to a particular proceedings cannot be proceeded against for violation of the order, a third party could not absolve itself if they had been informed about the fact that their conduct amounts to a violation of the Court order and despite the information, they choose to wilfully flout the mandate of the Court..“If such a conduct is permitted, then it will encourage subversion of judicial orders, which are to be properly understood and complied with. Disobedience of an order of the Court, if permitted, will result in striking at the root of the rule of law on which our system of governance is based. Power to punish for contempt is necessary for the maintenance of an effective legal system and the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971 has been primarily legislated to prevent interference in the course of administration of justice,” the single-judge observed..The order highlighted that even if it was assumed that the brother-in-law’s relative was initially not aware about the decree, the moment she was informed about the undertaking given by him, through whom she derives the title, she ought to have respected the undertaking given to the Court and not have persistently breached the same.“This Court is of the opinion that obstinate and wilful act on the part of the Respondent not to disobey the consent decree amounts to civil contempt under Section 2 (b) of the Contempt of Courts, 1971 Act,” the High Court said. .The verdict, therefore, held, "The fact that the suit is pending is no answer for the contemptuous disobedience on the part of the respondent to violate the consent decree which is based on an undertaking given by R N Kapur through whom respondent number 1 derives title. The respondents have, therefore, committed contempt and are liable for punishment under Section 12 of the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971.".Arguments on sentence will be heard on April 25..Advocates Ashutosh Lohia and Soumya Kumar argued for the petitioner.Senior Counsel Ravi P Mehrotra along with Advocates Vibhu Tiwari appeared for respondents 1, 2 and 3.Advocate Gautam Narayan represented the GNCTD and Advocate Aditya Nair appeared for the Station House Officer of the Hauz Khas Police Station..[Read Order]