In Brief
The appellant was convicted of civil contempt and sentenced to one week's imprisonment and a fine of Rs. 2,000 for allegedly breaching an undertaking to produce court documents. The Supreme Court allowed the appeal, holding the appellant was not guilty. The Court found that the appellant had handed the documents to his mother (the rightful owner), who subsequently died, and the documents were destroyed in a flood. Since it was physically impossible for the appellant to produce the documents, there was no willful breach of the undertaking. The Court held that civil contempt requires willful disobedience, and courts cannot compel performance of impossible acts.
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