AMARAVATI, India, Feb. 22 -- Andhra Pradesh High Court issued the following order on Jan. 21:

1. Heard Sri B.Chinnapareddy, learned counsel for the petitioners, appearing through virtual mode.

2. This contempt petition has been filed, alleging disobedience of the interim order dated 07.09.2018 passed by a Coordinate Bench in I.A.No.1 of 2018 in A.S.No.1489 of 2018 pending in this Court.

3. The interim order dated 07.09.2018, reads as under:

"Issue notice to the respondents returnable in four(4) weeks.

Personal notice is permitted.

Post after four(4) weeks.

There will be an interim stay of passing of final decree alone. All other proceedings shall go on."

4. Learned counsel for the petitioners submits and also the prayer is that the respondent in the contempt petition has disobeyed the interim order by execution of the fraudulent and fabricated document No.16236 of 2023 dated 29.12.2023 during pendency of the appeal. The prayer has also been made to annul the said document and all consequential documents.

5. Learned counsel for the petitioners further submits that the impact of those documents, would be frustrating the decree passed by the learned Trial Court as also on the interim order passed by this Court in the appeal.

6. A bare perusal of the interim order shows that a Coordinate Bench granted interim stay of passing of the final decree alone and all other proceedings were directed to go on. It is not the submission that the final decree has been passed.

7. Execution of document during pendency of the appeal was not stayed.

8. So far as the impact of those documents if at all, is concerned, that point can be raised in the appropriate proceedings viz. pending appeal, or/and the proceedings for preparation of the decree, if so permissible and so advised.

9. Whether the document is fraudulent or fabricated or signatures were forged, all these things cannot be considered in the exercise of the contempt jurisdiction, which is only against the interim order dated 07.09.2018 as reproduced above.

10. There is also no question of annulling the documents in the exercise of the contempt proceedings.

11. In our view, no case even for issuing notice is made out.

12. The Contempt Case is dismissed, at this stage itself. There shall be no order as to costs.

As a sequel, interlocutory applications pending if any, shall stand closed.

Disclaimer: Curated by HT Syndication.