ORDER

(Per Hon’ble Sri Justice U. Durga Prasad Rao)

This Contempt Case is filed U/s 10 to 12 of Contempt of Courts Act, 1971 by the petitioners seeking to punish the respondents for deliberately and willfully disobeying and flouting the orders dated 12.03.2015 passed by the Division Bench of this Court in W.P.M.P. No.3982 of 2015 in WP No. 2977/2015.

2. The factual matrix of the case is thus:

(a) The 2nd respondent herein filed O.S No.512/2014 on the file of Additional Senior Civil Judge, Madanapalle against respondents 3 to 11 herein seeking a decree for specific performance of the contract and for a direction to defendants to execute a registered sale deed pursuant to the sale agreement dt:26.09.2014 in favour of the plaintiff and put the petitioner in possession of the plaint schedule property.

(b) While so, pending the suit, both the parties entered into a compromise before Lok Adalath at Madanapalli and accordingly the Lok Adalat Bench passed an award dated 06.12.2014 in Lok Adalat Case No.512/2014 to the effect that the defendants should execute a regular registered sale deed in favour of the plaintiff in respect of plaint schedule property at the cost of plaintiff on or before 28.01.2015, failing which the plaintiff will be at liberty to obtain regular sale deed through process of law as well as for delivery of possession by filing execution petition.

(c) Pursuant to the award the plaintiff filed EP No.12/2022 in OS No.No.512/2014 on the file of Additional Senior Civil Judge, Madanapalle for execution of registered sale deed in favour of DHR basing on the Lok Adalat Award dated 06.12.2014. In the EP the DHR narrated that subsequent to Lok Adalat Award he demanded the JDR / defendant on several occasions to execute a regular registered sale deed in his favour but in vain and he has already paid the entire sale consideration of Rs.10 lakhs on 26.09.2014 and hence he prayed the Court to enforce the Lok Adalat award at the expense of JDRs. In the said EP, JDRs appeared and filed counter and contended that the decree holder filed EP without depositing the balance sale consideration of Rs.2 lakhs and therefore the EP was not maintainable. However, the execution Court on perusal of the record and award observed that no balance of sale consideration to be paid or deposited as alleged by the JDRs and allowed the EP on 16.10.2023 by overruling the objections of the JDRs and posted the matter to 24.11.2023 for filing the draft sale deed.

(d) While so, the petitioners in CC 54/2024 filed the instant CC on the allegation that they are the co-owners along with the defendants in OS No.512/2014 and without their knowledge the plaintiff and defendants therein colluded and obtained fraudulent award and therefore the petitioners filed W.P.No.2977/2015 to set aside the award passed in Lok Adalath Case No.512/2014. Their further case is that along with writ petition they filed W.P.M.P.No.3982/2015 wherein Division Bench of Common High Court of A.P passed order on 12.03.2015 and granted interim stay of all further proceedings pursuant to the award in Lok Adalat Case No.512/2014. The present respondents are the parties in the said writ petition and they are aware of the interim order. In spite of the same, the plaintiff filed execution petition and obtained order in gross violation of interim order.

Hence the CC.

3. Notice was ordered to respondents. Sri G. Ramesh Babu, learned counsel appearing for respondents 2 to 12 filed counter on behalf of respondents 2 to 11.

4. The submission on behalf of respondent 2/DHR/plaintiff in the said counter is that as per the legal advice given by his counsel, the respondents were of the view that interim order was not extended from time to time and therefore it was automatically vacated and hence there was no bar for him to file execution petition. Being only a semi literate and having studied only 10th class, in good faith, he filed EP and obtained orders. However, after approaching the counsel in the High Court