In Brief
The appellants challenged High Court contempt proceedings initiated over non-compliance with a writ court order to identify forest land based on government records as on 25 October 1980. The Supreme Court had directed the Chief Secretary to personally oversee preparation of a compliance report without delegation. After the report was submitted in September 2017, the respondents sought to challenge it on merits. The Court held that challenging a compliance report on its substantive merits is the province of the High Court, not a forum for contempt proceedings. Accordingly, the Supreme Court set aside the contempt proceedings and granted liberty to the respondents to pursue their challenge before the High Court in an appropriate proceeding, disposing of the appeals."
The lawyer headnote and full judgment text are available to registered users.