Intra-Court Appeal Against Order Dropping Contempt Proceedings Not Maintainable Except In Specific Cases: Allahabad High Court Reiterates

The Allahabad High Court has reiterated that intra court appeals under Section 19 of the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971 are maintainable only if an order punishing for contempt has been passed, or if there has been adjudication on merits of the case i.e. substantive issues of the original dispute between the parties, otherwise they are not maintainable.Referring to the judgment of the Apex Court in Midnapore Peoples' Co-operative Bank Ltd. and Ors. vs. Chunnilal Nanda and Ors., the bench of Chief Justice Arun Bhansali and Justice Kshitij Shailendra held,“the legal position is well settled and established over a period of about two decades holding that appeal against order passed refusing to initiate proceedings for contempt/dropping of contempt proceedings is not maintainable except for exception carved out in the case of Midnapore (supra). “Applicant preferred special appeal against order by the Single Judge in contempt proceedings. By said order, the contempt application was dismissed on account of no wilful disobedience.At the outset, a query as to maintainability of the appeal was put forward by the Division Bench. Counsel for appellant placed reliance on Tasneem Fatima vs. Sri Amit Mohan Mishra to submit that in view of said decision, the special appeal was maintainable against an order by Single Judge under the Contempt of Courts Act. In Midnapore Peoples' Co-operative Bank Ltd. and Ors. vs. Chunnilal Nanda and Ors., the Supreme Court specifically stated that an order declining to initiate proceedings for contempt, or an order dropping proceedings, or exonerating/acquitting the contemnor is not appealable under Section 19 of the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971. However, if the Single Judge issues directions or decision on the merits of a dispute between the parties, which are or is incidental to or inextricably connected with the order punishing for contempt, “then the order will be appealable.”The second exception carved out by the Supreme Court is if the Single Judge decides an issue or issues direction related to the merits of a dispute between the parties (and there is provision for an intra-court appeal). If such order was issued by the High Court in other cases, special leave to appeal should be sought as remedy.The bench headed by Justice Bhansali observed that the power qua intra court appeals has therefore been restricted by the Supreme Court as per the decision above.In Vinod Kumar Gupta and Ors. vs. Veer Bahadur Yadav and Ors., the Allahabad High Court observed that the Supreme Court and High Court have consistently held that an intra-court appeal is not maintainable against an order of a Single Judge not initiating contempt proceedings. In Subhash Chandra vs. Srikant Goswami, the Allahabad High Court had held that Section 19 can be invoked only once an order punishing for contempt has been issued. The essence of the aforesaid section is to provide a remedy to the contemnor once definitive action has been taken against him. Interlocutory orders, such as directions to produce documents, file affidavits, etc. do not come within the ambit of Section 19. It was further held that the term 'merit' as referred to in Midnapore Peoples' (supra) refers to substantive issues of the original case that led to contempt proceedings, encompassing core legal and factual questions contested. In case the contempt court oversteps its jurisdiction by discussing merits, special appeal would lie. Such distinction ensures that the parties' right to a fair adjudication of substantive issues is preserved. Accordingly, the Court held that the appeal against order refusing proceedings against contemnor is not maintainable except for exception carved out by the Supreme Court. The intra court appeal was dismissed as non-maintainable.Case Title: Alok Kumar Yadav v. Sri Ashish Kumar Pandey [SPECIAL APPEAL No. - 788 of 2025]Click Here To Read/Download Order

Intra-Court Appeal Against Order Dropping Contempt Proceedings Not Maintainable Except In Specific Cases: Allahabad High Court Reiterates

Upasna Agrawal

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