Court may not impose contempt if compliance with prior judgments is demonstrated, underscoring that evidence of willful disobedience is essential for a finding of civil contempt.

JUDGMENT :

M.A. ABDUL HAKHIM, J.

[Con.Case(C) Nos.2459/2019, 1871/2020, 1820/2020, 1855/2020, 1890/2020]

1. These five Contempt Cases (Civil) arise from Annexure-I common judgment dated 05.06.2015 of a learned Single Judge of this Court by which six Writ Petitions were disposed of by the learned Single Judge. Petitioners are the Petitioners in five out of the said six Writ Petitions.

2. Since the pleadings and documents are on record in Contempt Case (Civil) No.2459/2019, the said case is treated as the leading case, referring to the pleadings and documents of the said case in this judgment.

3. Petitioners are the retired personnel from Assam Rifles, which is a Central Paramilitary Force. Petitioners entered into service as Operator Radio and Lines (ORL) in the rank of Rifleman (Rfn) and they were promoted to the rank of Havildar. They worked during the period between 1984 and 2013 and were discharged from service on voluntary retirement. In the Writ Petitions they sought for the Pay Scale of their counterparts in other Paramilitary Forces on the basis of the Annexure R1(f) Division Bench judgment of the Gauhati High Court dated 22.09.2011 in W.A.No.50(SH) of 2010 and the judgment of the Hon'ble Supreme Court in Union of India v. Dineshan K.K. [(2008) 1 SCC 586] Annexure R1(f) Division Bench judgment of the Gauhati High Court was Ext.P1 in the Writ Petition.

4. By Annexure-I judgment, the learned Single Judge disposed of all the Writ Petitions holding that the Petitioners are entitled to get benefit of Ext.P1 judgment therein (Annexure R1(f) herein) and hence they are to be redesignated with replacement scale of pay in the scale of Rs.3,200 – 85 – 4,900; that they are entitled to get their retirement benefits refixed on the basis of the pay fixed on such upgradation along with arrears of pensionary benefits. The learned Single Judge directed the Respondent No.2 therein/the Director General of Assam Rifles to consider the Representations of each of the Petitioners already submitted, in the light of the above declarations and grant all benefits on the basis of the upgradation/restructuring and replacement of the scale of pay of the post from which they retired, by a refixation of their pay and pensionary benefits. It was further directed that the arrears of pensionary benefits on the basis of such re-fixation of pay and pension, along with all other monetary benefits, shall be paid within a period of four months from the date of receipt of a copy of the judgment. As per the Order dated 02.06.2016 in I.A. No.6135/2016, the words and figures “in the scale of Rs.3,200 – 85 – 4,900” in the concluding paragraph of the common judgment were deleted. Though the Respondents therein filed Writ Appeals before the Division Bench of this Court, the same were dismissed as per Annexure-II judgment dated 19.07.2019. In the said judgment, it is recorded that the Appellants therein, i.e., the Respondents in the Writ Petitions, have absolutely no objection in extending the benefit of Ext.P1 judgment to the Writ Petitioners. It is also observed that the parties are at variance as to whether the benefits under Ext.P1 judgment have already been extended to the Respondents or not, and it is a matter to be agitated in the proceedings for contempt if any initiated and not in the Writ Appeals. It is further observed that the deletion in the concluding part of the judgment impugned does not alter its basic fabric. Though the Appellants in the Annexure-II judgment filed R.P. No.937/2019 to review the Annexure-II judgment, the same was dismissed as per the Annexure-III order holding that there is no error apparent on the face of the record.

5. The Director Gene