- (1.) Alleging willful disobedience of order dated 3.5.2012 passed in L.P.A. No. 166 of 2012, the applicants have filed the present contempt application. By order dated 3.5.2012, the Letters Patent Court directed as under:-- 8. In view of the above reasons, the present Letters Patent Appeal is allowed. The order of the learned Single Judge is set aside and consequent thereto, the order of remand dated 24th June, 2006 is also set aside. The appellate court may now proceed to decide the matter, in accordance with law. Both the parties shall appear before the appellate court on 18th June, 2012.
(2.) Heard learned counsel appearing for the parties and perused the documents on record.
(3.) The learned counsel appearing for the applicants has submitted that, though the Hon'ble Division Bench has observed that if all the materials were before the Appellate Authority, the Appellate Authority was bound to take decision in the matter on merits however, the Appellate Authority has again remanded the matter. In this context, the learned counsel appearing for the applicants submits that the direction issued by the Hon'ble Division Bench directing the Appellate Court to decide the matter in accordance with law, would not include power to remand the matter to the Sub-Divisional Officer. It is thus, submitted that by the order dated 19.12.2013, whereby the matter has been remanded back to the Sub-Divisional Officer, the Appellate Authority has committed a contempt of order passed by this Court on 3.5.2012.;