Everest Mazdoor Congress vs Shri Manish Sanghi

Inter alia contending that orders dated 13.2.2006 passed by the Writ Court in W.P. No. 883/2004 and by a Division Bench of this Court in W.A. No. 291/2006 are not being implemented, this application has been filed for initiating action for contempt. Apart from the fact that the contempt application has been filed after a period of about three years, the fact remains that the Writ Court and the Writ Appellate Court have only confirmed certain orders passed by the Industrial Court in the matter of enforcing a settlement entered into between the parties in a proceeding u/s 51 of the Madhya Pradesh Industrial Relations Act, 1960. The question is as to whether enforcement of such an award passed by the Industrial Court, the contempt application is maintainable. The Question is already considered by the Supreme Court and in the case of Modern Food Industries (India) Ltd. and Anr. v. Sachidanand Dass and Anr., 1995 Supp.(4) SCC 465 based on an earlier decision rendered in the case of State of Jammu & Kashmir Vs. Mohd. Yaqoob Khan and Others, it has been held by the Supreme Court that when an order or judgment passed can be enforced by way of execution then contempt proceedings are not maintainable. In the present case settlement entered into between the parties and the consequential award passed by the Industrial Court under MPIR can be enforced by resorting to the procedure contemplated under the MPIR Act and therefore, in the light of the law laid down by the Supreme Court in the cases as referred to herein above, we are not inclined to initiate any action for contempt. Instead petitioners are granted liberty to get the award/settlement enforced in accordance with law.

Accordingly, finding no case for initiating action for contempt, respondents are discharged from the proceedings and the application disposed of.