Saying that no person could be permitted to undermine the law, the Bombay High Court has sentenced two businessmen to imprisonment for three months for contempt of court after they failed to implement its orders.
In a judgement passed on Tuesday, Justice Girish Kulkarni sentenced A A Ahmed and Ashok Bhatt, both businessmen, to three months in jail in a matter pertaining to a dispute over encashment of bank guarantee.
The two men failed to deposit Rs 75 lakh in court as directed by the HC in an earlier hearing in an arbitration petition involving Ahmed, Bhatt and a Hyderabad-based company, Sri Sai Krishna Construction.
Sai Krishna approached the HC recently with a contempt plea, informing the court about the failure of Ahmed and Bhatt to deposit the amount.
While the duo urged the court to show leniency, the judge noted that they had failed to make any attempts to implement its previous orders.
The judge also said that the two men had failed to appear in the HC on previous occasions despite orders to the effect, which proved they had wilfully disobeyed the court's orders.
"If the contentions to show any leniency are accepted, in my opinion, it would be sending a wrong message, that persons who have throughout not only breached the orders passed by the courts but who have, time and again, mislead the court and even on affidavits as filed in this contempt proceedings would stand rewarded," the HC said.
It said the court required to keep in mind the public's faith in the process of law.
"What is paramount is the faith and confidence of the people in the process of the court. The process of administration of justice cannot be so casually and with impunity tarnished and/or interfered by such contemptuous action," it said.
"The court is required to take all possible measures and with iron hands when unscrupulous litigants make an attempt to derail the course of justice and interfere in the administration of justice."
"No person is permitted to undermine the authority of law," the HC said while holding the two men guilty of contempt and awarding jail term to them.
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