Allahabad High Court
PARSADI SINGH AND 18 OTHERSversusSRI SANJAY PRASAD AND ANOTHER
- Decided
- Bench
- ROHIT RANJAN AGARWAL
Holding
The court held that contempt proceedings cannot proceed without first issuing notice and providing the opposite party a reasonable opportunity to comply with the original order.
Summary
The applicants filed a contempt application under Section 12 of the Contempt of Courts Act, alleging that the opposite party willfully disobeyed a judgment dated 22 January 2026 in Civil Misc. Writ Petition No. 762 of 2026. The order was served to the opposite party on 3 February 2026, but compliance was not achieved. The court observed that while a prima facie case existed, no notice had been issued to the opposite party, and therefore granted an additional three‑month period for compliance. The court directed the applicants to provide stamped envelopes for service of the order and contempt application to the opposite party. It further ordered that the opposite party must comply with the writ court’s directions and inform the applicants within a week of receipt. If the opposite party fails to comply, the applicants may approach the court again. The contempt application was disposed of pending compliance.
Issues considered
- Does the opposite party's failure to comply with the order constitute contempt under Section 12 of the Contempt of Courts Act?
- Is notice required before initiating contempt proceedings for willful disobedience of a court order?
- Can the court grant a further period for compliance before proceeding with contempt?
Legislation cited
- Contempt of Courts Act, 1971 — s. 12
Subjects
- contempt of court
- willful disobedience
- civil writ petition
- compliance order
- notice requirement
- High Court of Allahabad
Judgment
HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT ALLAHABAD
CONTEMPT APPLICATION (CIVIL) No. - 2993 of 2026
Parsadi Singh And 18 Others
.....Applicant(s)
Versus
Sri Sanjay Prasad And Another
.....Opposite
Party(s)
Counsel for Applicant(s) : Shivendra Kumar Gupta
Counsel for Opposite Party(s) :
Court No. - 9
HON'BLE ROHIT RANJAN AGARWAL, J.
1. Learned counsel for the applicants is directed to delete the opposite
party no.1 from the array of parties, during course of the day.
2. The present contempt application has been filed under Section 12 of the
Contempt of Courts Act for punishing the Opposite Party for willful
disobedience of the judgment and order dated 22.01.2026 passed by this
Court in Civil Misc. Writ Petition No.762 of 2026.
3. It is contended that applicants had filed aforesaid writ, which was
disposed of vide order dated 22.01.2026. Copy of the said order was
served to the opposite party through registered post on 03.02.2026, but the
said direction has not been complied with by the opposite party till date.
4. Prima facie, a case has been made out for punishing the opposite party
for willful disobedience of the judgment and order passed in the aforesaid
writ petition.
5. However, no notice is issued to the opposite party at this stage. The
opposite party is granted three months’ further time to comply with the
order dated 22.01.2026 passed by this Court in Civil Misc. Writ Petition
No.762 of 2026 from the date of production of a certified copy of this
order.
6. The applicants shall supply a duly stamped registered envelope
addressed to the opposite party and another self-addressed envelope to the
office within one week from today. The office shall send a copy of this
CAPL No. 2993 of 2026
2
order along with the self-addressed envelope of the applicants with a copy
of contempt application to the opposite party within one week thereafter
and keep a record thereof.
7. The opposite party shall comply with the directions of the writ court
and intimate the applicants the order through the self-addressed envelop
within a week thereafter.
8. In case, the opposite party does not comply with the order, it would be
open to the applicants to approach this court again.
9. With the aforesaid observations, this application is finally disposed of
at this stage.
(Rohit Ranjan Agarwal,J.)
May 5, 2026
SK Goswami
Digitally signed by :-
SHIVAKANT GOSWAMI
High Court of Judicature at Allahabad
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