1. The applicant in the present contempt application has contended that the respondents are liable to be punished for the contempt of non th compliance of the judgment dated 12October, 2017, passed in Writ Petition No. 1562 of 2017 (S/S), Manoj Tripathi Vs. State of Uttarakhand and another, whereby, following direction was issued :-

“2. Since the process for selection and appointment of temporary pharmacists has already been initiated, writ petition is disposed with direction to the respondents to complete the selection process as expeditiously as possible and declare the results promptly, unless the Government has meanwhile take a policy decision to cancel the selection.”

2. The language, as used in the said order, says that the respondents were supposed to take a decision and complete the selection process as expeditiously as possible and declare the result promptly. The interpretation of the word “as expeditiously as possible” would always be construed to be derived from the reasonable period which an authority is liable to take an action. The term reasonable time has been interpreted by the Hon’ble Apex Court in the following judgments :

3. In the case of Ram chand and