Chandigarh Adviser Dharam Pal (File)The Punjab and Haryana High Court issued notice to the UT Advisor Dharam Pal, to show cause as to why contempt proceedings under the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971 be not initiated against him. The notice has been issued by the Bench of Justice BS Walia, for July 18, 2022.
The order came after a contempt petition was filed by the Chandigarh School Bus Operator Welfare Association, through its president, Manjit Singh Saini, for non-compliance with an earlier judgment passed on February 10, 2022.
The judgment was passed by a Division Bench of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, regarding a set of concessions sought by the association for the Covid-19 period.
Advocate Ranjivan Singh, counsel for the association, contended that with the outbreak of the pandemic, school buses operating for private schools in Chandigarh were completely off-road since March, 2020. Schools reopened physically after two years with effect from April, 2022. The association had earlier approached the UT Administration, on September 24, 2021, with memorandums seeking the concessions, especially for the period when buses were off-road during Covid.
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The association claimed that even though the UT Administration exempted Motor Vehicle Tax for the year 2020, no decision was taken regarding exemption of the same from January, 2021 to March, 2022. Further, no call was taken to grant extension of lifespan to buses for the time when they were off the road. The association thus filed a petition before the HC, which was disposed of on February 10, 2022, in view of the statement made by the Senior Standing Counsel for UT that the said claims are under active consideration of the Administration. It was stated that the UT Advisor was directed to decide on the memorandums submitted by the association on September 24, 2021 within a period of two months.
The association contended that despite the passing of the judgment in February, 2022, more than three months have lapsed. However, the UT Advisor has not taken a final decision on the concessions claimed within the stipulated time frame. It was state that this compelled the association to initiate contempt proceedings under the provisions of Article 215 and Contempt of Courts Act, 1971.
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