Allahabad: Acting on a contempt petition, the Allahabad
high court on Monday issued
notice to Patanjali Ayurved Ltd director Baba Ramdev for alleged disobedience of a high
court order in the food plaza matter of Noida.
The high court also issued notices to Gautam Budh Nagar (Noida) district magistrate BN Singh and Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (YEIDA) chief executive officer Arun Vir Singh for non-compliance of court order regarding maintaining status quo on a piece of land which has been allotted to Patanjali Ayurved Ltd for setting up a food plaza.
Hearing a contempt petition filed by one Sohan, a farmer of Kadarpur village of Gautam Budh Nagar, Justice Ashwani Kumar Mishra also directed all the respondents to file their respective replies (counter affidavits) within a month, or else face charges after being summoned. Passing the directives, the court observed, "From perusal of the record, a prima facie case for contempt is made out."
The petitioner has alleged that despite a high court order dated April 26, 2013, by which the parties were directed to maintain status quo on the disputed land, the opposite parties — Baba Ramdev and others — disobeyed the order by fencing the said piece of land.
The petitioner has alleged that this act of the respondents is a clear case of disobedience of the court order, therefore, it amounted to contempt.
As per the facts of the case, the land was acquired by the state in favour of Yamuna Expressway, which was later allotted to Patanjali Ayurved Ltd to establish a food plaza.
When the petitioner challenged the acquisition of land through a writ petition, the high court on April 26, 2013, directed the parties to maintain status quo in the matter.
