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2023 (1) TMI 239 - HC - GSTSeeking permission for withdrawal of petition - Initiation of proceeding for alleged, willful and deliberate non-compliance of the order - seeking a direction by issuing writ arising of the criminal proceeding - HELD THAT - This Court has perused the order passed in W.P.(Cr.) No. 415 of 2018 and other analogous cases and Cont. Case (Cvl) No. 665 of 2019 and other analogous cases as also the order passed by the writ Court in W.P.(Cr.) No. 14 of 2019 which is the subject matter of the instant contempt case wherefrom it is evident as under paragraph-4 thereof that the writ petition was disposed of vide order dated 23.04.2019 and the writ petitioner was directed to appear before the Senior Intelligence Officer as and when called upon by him. The Senior Intelligence Officer was also directed not to arrest the writ petitioner on his first day of appearance and give him fair opportunity of hearing in the matter. This Court has posed a question upon the learned counsel for the petitioner that when there is a specific direction passed by the writ court to the effect that there shall be no arrest on the first day of appearance and if the writ petitioner, namely, Nikit Mittal has not appeared before the concerned Officer, what action has been taken by the Senior Intelligence Officer for securing his appearance in order to proceed further in the proceeding which was the subject matter of the writ petition. The instant case is dismissed as withdrawn. Accordingly, disposed of.
Issues:
Contempt of court for non-compliance with a court order. Analysis: The petition was filed for contempt under Section 11 and 12 of the Contempt of Courts Act, alleging willful non-compliance with a court order dated 23.04.2019 in a criminal proceeding initiated through a writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India. The writ petition arose from a fraud involving Rs.400 crore of public money. The order directed the writ petitioner to appear before the Senior Intelligence Officer when summoned, ensuring no arrest on the first day of appearance and granting a fair hearing opportunity. The contempt case was initiated due to the writ petitioner's alleged non-appearance before the Senior Intelligence Officer, leading to the petitioner's defiance of the court order. The petitioner's counsel referred to similar instances where contempt cases were filed for non-appearance, emphasizing the authority's power to take coercive action, including arrest, after multiple summons. Upon review of the relevant orders and proceedings, the court questioned the petitioner's counsel about the steps taken to secure the writ petitioner's appearance as per the court's direction. The counsel failed to provide a satisfactory response, prompting the court to question the necessity of filing a contempt case instead of taking coercive measures to ensure the litigant's appearance. Despite the lack of a clear response from the petitioner's counsel, the counsel eventually requested to withdraw the contempt case. Subsequently, the court dismissed the case as withdrawn, bringing the matter to a close.
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