The Gujarat High Court recently comprising of a bench of Chief Justice Aravind Kumar and Justice Ashutosh Shastri Limitation Act is inapplicable to contempt proceedings and thereby refused to condone 389 Days delay in filing a contempt petition. (RANJEETSINH GAMBHIRSINH JADEJA v/s AGRICULTURE PRODUCE MARKET COMMITTEE)
The application was filed without invoking any provisions of law. However, it was stated that by way of said application petitioner is seeking for condonation of delay for 389 days in filing the contempt petition.
The bench remarked, "Section 20 of the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971 being clear and specific and the provisions of the Limitation Act, 1963 being inapplicable to the contempt proceedings, Civil Application No.3558 of 2019 cannot be entertained and it stands rejected. Notice is discharged."
Section 20 in the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971 reads,
"20. Limitation for actions for contempt.—No court shall initiate any proceedings of contempt, either on its own motion or otherwise, after the expiry of a period of one year from the date on which the contempt is alleged to have been committed. —No court shall initiate any proceedings of contempt, either on its own motion or otherwise, after the expiry of a period of one year from the date on which the contempt is alleged to have been committed."
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