IMPORTANT POINT
The main legal point established in the judgment is that all orders of the Tribunal under the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971 are appealable to the Supreme Court only within a period of 60 days from the date of the order, and no writ petition is maintainable before the High Court under Article 226 / 277 of the Constitution of India.

JUDGMENT :

Donadi Ramesh, J.

1. Heard Sri Pramod Kumar Pandey, learned counsel for the petitioners.

2. The petitioners have approached the Central Administrative Tribunal, Allahabad Bench Allahabad, by invoking the provisions of the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971 (hereinafter referred to as ‘the Act 1971”). The petitioners have filed original application no.1427 of 2018 before the Central Administrative Tribunal and the same was disposed of vide order dated 10.05.2022 with the following observations:

“9. In view of the facts and circumstances as discussed above, the present original application is allowed with a direction to the Competent Authority amongst the respondents to issue orders forthwith, in any case not later than a period of twelve weeks from the date of this order giving appointment to the applicants as regular Assistant Medical Officers with effect from the date on which they were initially appointed as Short Term Medical Officer.

10. While the applicant shall be entitled to all the consequential benefits as a result of this Order, they shall have no claim over any arrears of salary and allowances, etc. The benefit of the service rendered by them as STMOs till 16.09.2015 shall be awarded to them only on notional basis.”

3. For non-compliance of the above order, the petitioners have approached the Tribunal by filing the contempt petition and the same was numbered as 48 of 2023 in original application no.1427 of 2018. The said contempt application has been disposed of vide order dated 20.10.2023 with the following observations:

12. Simple reading of the para 10 of the order of the Tribunal,which mentions of consequential benefit, cannot be read beyond the wordings of the order as all consequential benefits are as per rules and entitlement and nothing more or less can be given to the petitioners. We fail to read within the order if there is any express direction, which confers any benefit of seniority and other consequential benefit of out of turn promotion to the petitioners vide order dated 10.05.2022. The respondents have finally issued regularization order dated 19.04.2023 in compliance of the order dated 10.05.2022 and it is noted that similar benefit, as has been extended to the petitioners, has been granted to other Medical Officers, who initially joined as Short Terms Medical Officers and were subsequently regularized on recommendations of the UPSC as AMOs at a later date and these Medical Officers are deemed to be in service from the date of their first appointment and the break being ignored and shall be treated as leave to which these Medical Officers may be entitled to or as Extra Ordinary Leave without pay, if there is no leave in credit. Seniority of the Medical Officers will, however, count with effect from the date of their regular appointment as Assistant Medical Officer.

13. We have seen the order dated 19.04.2023 passed by the respondents, which is annexed at page 28 of the counter affidavit, regarding counting of past service, grant of condonation of break, increments, etc in respect of Short Term Medical Officer (STMOs) regularized following judgment of this Tribunal, we are satisfied that substantial compliance of the order of this Tribunal dated 10.05.2022 passed in OA No. 1427/2018 has been made and there is nothing on record which show anything contrary to this.

14. In view of the above facts and circumstances, this court is of the view that sufficient compliance has been made and we do not find any wilful disobedience of the direction of this Tribunal on the part of the respondents. Therefore, no further proceeding is required and the contempt proceeding is liable to be closed. Accordingly, the contempt proceeding is closed, the notices are discharged and the respondents are discharged from their liabilities. All associated pending MAs stand disposed off”

4. Aggrieved by the same, the petitioners have filed the present writ petition with the following prayers:

(i) To issue writ, order or direction in th