M. F. SALDANHA, J.

( 1 ) WE need to prefix this judgment with the observation that instances of abject disregard of judicial orders at all levels seems to have become the order of the day as far as the State and public authorities are concerned giving rise to a virtual multiplication of unnecessary post decisional litigation which has almost reached epidemic proportions. The problem is not acute. It is not chronic, it is virtually malignant. The question that is legitimately being posed in this situation is as to whether the law has any teeth left and the present situation appears to have stemmed from the impression of the authorities, that the law has not only lost its teeth but also its gums! It is in these circumstances that it has become necessary for us to deal at some length with this issue because this High Court alone as of now is unnecessarily overburdened with almost three thousand contempt proceedings, which is a virtual national record.

( 2 ) AN impression is unfortunately current that in those of the cases where a judicial order does not specify a prescribed time-frame for implementation, that the authority can postpone it indefinitely and still canvass the plea that n

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