In Brief
This contempt petition arose from respondents' alleged breach of an interim order directing maintenance of status quo over unencumbered shares pending an arbitration award's enforcement. The petitioner argued that restraint orders should be imposed for repeated violations. The Court found the respondents willfully disobeyed the order by failing to maintain the shareholding status and refusing to top-up securities as contractually required when market value fell. The respondents' claims that market conditions or changed circumstances exempted them from compliance were rejected as unacceptable excuses. The Court upheld the binding nature of status quo orders regardless of external market fluctuations.
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