The Delhi High Court today directed a businessman to pay Rs three lakh to his landlady for non-compliance of its earlier order to remove a washing machine, which was obstructing the woman's entry to her house.
The court also made it clear that in case of his failure to pay the amount, he will have to undergo a jail term for 15 days.
Allowing the contempt plea of the woman, a resident of Jor Bagh area, against her tenant Rajendra Kumar, who has a dry-cleaning shop on her property, Justice P K Bhasin relied on a ruling by the Supreme Court in which it had asked the contemnor to pay the money rather than sending him to jail.
"In the facts and circumstances of the present case, the contemnor (Kumar) is directed to pay Rs three lakh to the plaintiff-landlady within a period of 15 days as that would be a sufficient punishment for him and would serve the ends of justice. However, in case of default in payment of this amount, the contemnor shall undergo simple imprisonment for a period of 15 days," the court said.
The counsel who appeared for the woman had argued that if someone is found guilty of having wilfully violated the court orders, the contemnor should not be let off lightly.
The court, however, said, "I do not feel that sending the contemnor to jail would be justified and that punishment only would serve the ends of justice.... "
In her contempt plea, the woman had said that the High Court on September 3 last year had directed Kumar to remove the dry cleaning machine from the common verandah in dispute within four weeks and not to create any hindrance for her entry to the common verandah and toilet on the ground floor.
