SHOBHA NAND JHA Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) HEARD the parties.

(2.) FOR the present this Court is primarily concerned with the contempt matter pending vide MJC No. 1808/2002. Earlier this Court noticed all the relevant facts and found substance in the stand of the petitioners that the S.D.O., Madhubani could not have proceeded to declare some of the lands in respect of some branches of the family to be surplus when a stay order in respect of the lands of the larger family had been passed in the pending Writ Petition bearing CWJC No. 3575/1997. From the records of the aforesaid Writ Petition of 1997 it appears that interim order was passed on 3.6.1997 and it continued to be operative even after the Writ Petition was admitted for hearing on 23.7.1997. The S.D.O., Madhubani had appeared before this Court and realizing the mistake in proceeding with part of the lands during the pendency of the Writ Petition and during the operation of interim order, it was submitted before this Court that all the offending orders passed by him in ignorance/disregard of the interim order of stay of this Court shall be withdrawn or nullified by him. It appears from Annexure -A to the supplementary show cause of O.P. No. 3, S.D.O. that now he has passed orders to withdraw all his orders passed in teeth of interim order of stay in the pending CWJC No. 3575 of 1997. It appears that for denotifying various notifications already issued pursuant to such recalled orders, the records have been sent to the District Collector, Madhubani. It is expected that the District Collector, Madhubani shall act in accordance with law and authorize issuance of notification so that earlier notifications may stand denotified. This should be done expeditiously and preferably within three months from today.

(3.) IT is made clear that this order or the earlier orders passed in contempt matter shall not prejudice the case of either of the parties when the Writ Petition CWJC No. 3575/1997 is taken up and decided on merits.