1. By way of instant petition, prayer has been made on behalf of the petitioner for initiation of contempt proceedings against respondents for their having wilfully and intentionally disobeyed the mandate contained in judgment dated 03.10.2023 passed by this Court in CWP No.1488 of 2018, titled Vidhya Devi Vs. State of Himachal Pradesh and Others, whereby on the undertaking of learned Additional Advocate General that a suitable site for cremation ground shall be selected by the Gram Panchayat concerned within a period of three months, petition came to be disposed of, with the direction that needful be positively done within a period of three months from the date of passing of order. Since despite there being aforesaid direction, no steps whatsoever came to be taken at the behest of respondents to identify suitable place for cremation ground, petitioner has approached this Court in the instant proceedings for initiation of contempt proceedings.
2. Pursuant to notices issued in the instant proceedings, respondent No.2 has filed reply. Respondent No.1 has adopted the reply filed on behalf of respondent No.2. If the aforesaid reply is perused in its entirety, this Court finds that pursuant to directions contained in the judgment alleged to have been violated, suitable site for cremation ground was identified with the assistance of Gram Panchayat of the area concerned and in that regard, sum of ₹3,00,000/- has been also sanctioned.
3. Mr. Rajneesh K. Lal, Advocate, representing respondent No.3 states that though respondent No.3 is all set to start the work on the site in terms of directions contained in the judgment alleged to have been violated, but before that, residents of other Gram Panchayat have approached this Court by way of writ petition, on the ground that site, so identified for cremation ground, is not suitable to them.
4. Having taken note of the reply filed on behalf of respondent No.2, coupled with the submission made by learned counsel representing respondent No.3, no action of respondents can be said to be contumacious. Otherwise also, there was only direction from the Court to select a suitable site for cremation ground, which admittedly in the case at hand stands identified, but before funds allotted for construction on the site could be utilized, residents of other Gram Panchayat have approached Writ Court, claiming therein that site, so identified by the respondents for setting-up cremation ground, is not suitable to them.
5. Admittedly, though issue with regard to suitability of site, chosen for cremation ground, cannot be gone into in the instant proceedings, rather, same can be decided in the appropriate proceedings, but having taken note of the fact that in compliance to the mandate contained in the judgment alleged to have been violated, respondents not only identified the site, but also allocated funds for construction of cremation ground, this Court sees no reason to keep the present petition alive and accordingly, the same is disposed of. Notices issued to the respondents are discharged.
6. Needless to say, amount already sanctioned for construction of cremation ground shall be utilized for the purpose, immediately on resolution of dispute qua site, so that funds do not go waste, especially when there is nothing on record to demonstrate that judgment alleged to have been violated, has been modified, varied or stayed by the Writ Court.
