(1) LEAVE granted.

(2) THE respondent was an employee of A.P. State Cooperative Rice Federation which was wound up and he ceased to be an employee of that Federation. He filed a writ petition in the High Court seeking reliefs, inter alia, that his representation for absorption in alternative government service may be directed to be considered by the State Government. The writ petition was allowed and the direction was issued to the State Government to consider and dispose of the representation. Pursuant to that direction, the State Government considered the representation and rejected the claim of the respondent for absorption in government service. The respondent, instead of challenging the order by which his representation was rejected in a fresh writ petition, filed a contempt petition in which he relied upon a judgment of the High Court in Writ Petition No. 22230 of 1997 and batch decided on 15-10- 1997, and the High Court too, relying upon that decision, observed in the impugned judgment as under:

"THE stand taken in the impugned order dated 15-4-1998 which has been reiterated in the counter-affidavit filed on behalf of the respondents is that in view of Ord