B S N LTD Vs. C K MATHEW

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This contempt petition has been filed by the petitioner (Decree-Holder), Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. (A Government of India Undertaking) through its Deputy Assistant Manager (Planning) in the office of General Manager, Telecom, District, BSNL, Jodhpur Mr.R.C. Vyas, alleging therein that in the first appeal filed by the defendantState of Rajasthan before this Court under Section 96 CPC, against the judgment and decree of the learned Additional District Judge No.2, Jodhpur Metropolitan, Jodhpur, a coordinate bench of this Court while admitting the First Appeal No.77/2012- State of Rajasthan & Ors. Vs. BSNL, the coordinate bench of this Court has disposed of the stay petition of the said First Appeal with a direction that the effect and operation of the judgment and decree dated 13.12.2011 shall remain stayed provided the appellant State deposits 50% of the decretal amount and the State functionaries have not complied with that interim order of this Court and hence they have committed civil contempt.

(2.) After serving a legal notice (Annex.3) dated 14.07.2012 on behalf of decree-holder- BSNL upon the defendants authorities of State of Rajasthan calling upon them to deposit a sum of Rs.42,61,485/- including interest; and if the defendants fail to deposit the same, the decree-holder threatened contempt action against the defendants, the authorities of the State. In the said notice (Annex.3), the learned advocate serving the said notice, Mr. Jagdish Vyas, also stated that otherwise appropriate execution proceedings for the decree will also be taken against the judgment-debtor State.

(3.) It may be stated here that the present suit was filed by the BSNL against the State authorities, mainly against the Rajasthan Urban Infrastructure Development Project, Jodhpur (RUIDP), which was assigned the contract of undertaking the road repair work inside the walled city of Jodhpur and during the process of such construction of road, the cables laid by the plaintiff-BSNL were damaged and for the purported loss caused to the plaintiff-BSNL by such damages to the cables, the plaintiff claimed Rs.1,50,000/- for each cut of cable at different places. The said suit was contested by the defendant- State, inter-alia, on the ground of limitation and nonserving the mandatory prior notice under Section 80 of the CPC and also on merits. The learned trial court, however, over-ruling the preliminary objections apparently without any substantive evidence of actual damage caused to or suffered by the plaintiff-BSNL, decreed the suit of the total claimed amount of Rs.64,98,000/- to be paid with interest to BSNL.