1 FARAD CONTINUATION SHEET NO. IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY APPELLATE SIDE NAGPUR BENCH, NAGPUR CONTEMPT PETITION NO. 228/2008 in WRIT PETITION NO. 2433 OF 2008 (D) (Mah. State Gazetted Veterinarians Association & anr. Vs. Smt. Medha A. Gadgil & ors.) Appeal District : Application No. of 200 Writ petition Office Notes, Office Memoranda of Coram, appearances, Court's orders or directions Court's or Judge's orders and Registrar's orders. Mr. Mohan Sudame, Adv. for the petitioners. Mr. N.S. Khubalkar, A.G.P. for respondents. CORAM : Smt. Vasanti A. Naik, J. DATED : 22 nd JANUARY, 2009. By the instant petition, the petitioners seek initiation of action against the respondents under the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971, for deliberately and willfully disobeying the orders passed by the division bench of this Court on 17/7/2008 in Writ Petition No. 2433/2008, and punish the contemners in accordance with law. It appears that the division bench of this Court had, while disposing Writ Petition No. 2433 of 2008, by the order dated 17th July, 2008, permitted the petitioners to make representations to the State Government, within a period of 15 days from the date of the order. The Court observed that in case such representations are received by the State 2 Government, the State Government was directed to dispose them of on their own merits according to policy of the State Government, as early as possible and in any case within a period of eight weeks from the date of receipt of such representations. It is the case of the petitioners that the representations were made by the petitioners on 31/7/2008, but the same were not decided by the respondents within a period of eight weeks. It is now brought to the notice of this Court that there is no formal order deciding the representations of the petitioners. Some of the petitioners were transferred to the places of their choice by the order dated 23/12/2008, thereby granting the prayers made in the representations of those petitioners who were transferred. It is further brought on record by the affidavit-in-reply filed on behalf of the respondents that the claim of 11 petitioners could not be considered as there were no vacancies in the places where they sought to be transferred and, therefore, decisions on the claims of 11 applicants would be taken and their claims would be decided as per their choice of posting, at the time of general transfers which are likely to take place in the months of April and May. It is submitted on behalf of the petitioners that though some of the petitioners are being 3 transferred to the places of their choice, no relieving orders are issued to these petitioners. Shri Khubalkar, the learned Assistant Government pleader, on instructions from the officer who is present in the Court today, makes a statement that the relieving orders of the petitioners who have been transferred to the places of their choice, would be issued to them by the Chief Executive Officer, within a period of fifteen days from today. It appears from the replies filed on behalf of the respondents that the representations could not be decided within a period of eight weeks as directed by this Court, as the representations were received by one authority and then submitted to the other authority who was required to take decision on the same. Some time was consumed in this process and, therefore, it is the case of the respondents that the order passed by the division bench of this Court on 17/7/2008 could not have been said to be deliberately flouted or disobeyed. It appears from the submissions made on behalf of the parties that there is no willful disobedience of the order passed by the division bench of this Court on 17/7/2008 in Writ Petition No. 2433/2008. It is, therefore, necessary in the interest of justice to drop the proceedings against the respondents. 4 The contempt petition is, therefore, disposed of with no order as to costs. Steno copy of this order be furnished to the learned A.G.P. to act upon. JUDGE RMP