Delhi HC Dismisses Contempt Plea Filed by Charitable Trust, Imposes Cost of Rs 10,000

New Delhi [India], April 18 (ANI): The Delhi High Court on Friday dismissed a contempt plea filed by a charitable trust and imposed a cost of Rs 10,000 and directed the petitioner to deposit it in PM Cares Fund within a period of two weeks after the lifting of lockdown by the Government. The High Court dismissed the plea seeking initiation of contempt proceedings against the respondents for alleged contemptuous and willful disobedience of an order, dated April 8, 2020.The petition claimed that despite the Delhi HC order dated April 8, Delhi Government had not extended the passes issued to the petitioner charitable trust for movement during the lockdown period for supplying various essential items like ration, food, medicines, etc to the persons in need.The petitioner submitted that as its offices are located within the Chandni Mahal area, to which the containment order dated April 10, 2020, applies, the petitioner is unable to visit its offices, as a consequence whereof the petitioner is also unable to provide ration to poor and needy persons, located in the containment areas of Delhi as well as at other places.Whereas Delhi government counsel submitted that the Chandni Mahal area of Delhi has 102 positive COVID-19 cases."The government has taken a conscious decision not to extend the passes issued to the petitioner or allow any further access to containment areas. The offices of the petitioner are located in Chandni Mahal, which is an area covered in the containment zone," the Delhi government counsel added.After the conclusion of the argument, Justice C Harishankar said, "I am of the opinion that there is no substance in the contempt petition. It cannot be said, by any stretch of the imagination, that there has been any contemptuous or willful disobedience of the order, dated April 8, 2020.""Significantly, the said order had been passed before the issuance of the containment order, dated April 10, 2020, by the Delhi Government. In view of the spread of the COVID-2019 epidemic in the GNCTD area, as well as the fact that, even till the date of issuance of the said order, at least three patients had died from the said disease in Chandni Mahal. Thus, it had been consciously decided to strictly delimit the Chandni Mahal area as a containment area."The court dismissed the plea herewith.The court had earlier granted permission for issuance of passes to the trustees of the petitioner's trust. (ANI)

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