Holding

The Supreme Court held that the High Court misapplied its powers under Art. 226 by ordering eviction and contempt proceedings, and therefore set aside those orders, directing a fresh consideration of the writ petition and restoring possession to the appellant.

Summary

Shanti Devi, a widow, continued to run a grocery‑stationery shop in rented premises after her husband's death. The trade licence was in her husband's name and the authorities refused to issue a fresh licence to her without a No‑Objection Certificate (NOC) from the landlord, invoking Rule 12(m) of the Sikkim Trade Licence and Miscellaneous Provisions Rules, 1985. She filed a writ petition under Art. 226 seeking transfer of the licence and striking down the NOC requirement; the Sikkim High Court dismissed the petition, imposed a Rs 1 lakh cost and ordered her to vacate the premises within a week. The landlord then filed a contempt petition; the High Court, without proper service, issued a non‑bailable warrant, directed police to take possession of the shop and appointed the collector as receiver. The Supreme Court held that the High Court had misused its writ jurisdiction by ordering eviction and contempt proceedings, set aside those orders, directed the matter to be reheard, restored possession to the appellant and quashed the costs and contempt proceedings, awarding Rs 25,000 costs to the appellant.

Issues considered

The scope of the High Court's power under Art. 226 to pass mandatory eviction orders in a writ petition.
Whether the contempt proceedings and non‑bailable warrant were valid given lack of proper service and haste.
Whether Rule 12(m) requiring a NOC is arbitrary and violative of Arts 14, 21, 19 and 300A of the Constitution.
The propriety of imposing a Rs 1 lakh cost on the appellant in a writ petition.
The distinction between civil eviction proceedings and constitutional writ jurisdiction.

Legislation cited

Constitution of Indias. Art. 14, s. Art. 19, s. Art. 21, s. Art. 226, s. Art. 300A

Subjects

Trade licenceWrit petitionArticle 226Contempt of courtEvictionNo Objection CertificateArbitrary ruleDue process of lawSikkim

Judgment

+
[2008] 2 S.C.R. 307

. .,. SHANTI DEVI A
v.
STATE OF SIKKIM AND ANR.
(Civil Appeal No. 687 of 2008)
JANUARY 25, 2008
B
[ASHOK BHAN AND ALTAMAS KABIR, JJ.]
~

"' Constitution of India, 1950 - Art. 226 - Writ petition -
Relief - Grant of - Scope - Contempt proceedings - Abuse
of process of law - Shop run by Appellant and her husband in c
rented premises - Trade Licence for running the shop issued
in favour ofhusband - He died - Writ petition by Appellant for
transfer of trade licence in her favour- Dismissal of, by High
Court with imposition of cost of Rupees One Lakh on the
Appellant - Besides, direction to Appellant to vacate the
D
tenanted premises within one week - On expiry of one week,
landlord filed contempt petition against Appellant - Issuance
of non-bailable waffant - Court passed orders. directing the
-"' Police authorities to take possession of the premises and hand
over same to landlord - Justification of - Held: Not justified -
High Court was deciding a writ petition for reliefs prayed for by E
Appellant and not a civil suit for eviction against her and in
such a proceeding no mandatory order of eviction could be
passed and certainly not against the Appellant herself - No
special circumstances were indicated by the High Court to
show why such a heavy cost was required to be imposed on F
....
the Appellant - Besides, orders on the contempt petition were
passed in haste and in gross abuse of due process of Jaw -
High Court did not even verify whether notice of the contempt
proceedings had been seryed personally and without waiting
for any response from Appellant concluded that it was a case G
of contempt of court - Consequently, cost imposed by High
·- .......
Court and ·the contempt proceedings initiated against
• Appellant quashed and landlord directed to restore
possession to Appellant - High Court to reconsider the matter
307 H
' 1
t·
308 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2008] 2 S.C.R

A afresh - Sikkim Trade Licence and Misc. Provisions Rules,
1985 - r 12(m).
Appellant and her husband were running a shop in
a rented pre"'.lises owned by Respondent No.2. The Trade
Licence in respect of the shop was issued in favour of
8 the Appellant's husband. He died. Appellant, who
continued to run the said shop·, applied for issuance of a
fresh trade licence in her favour. The concerned
authorities declined the request in absence of a NOC from
Respondent No.2-landlord. Appellant thereafter filed writ
C petition praying for transfer of the trade licence issued in
favour ·of her late husband to herself and also for striking
down the requirements of obtaining NOC from the landlor~
together with the provisions of Rule 12(m) of the s'ikJdm
Trade Licence and Misc. Provisions Rules, 1985 as being
D arbitrary and illegal. High Court dismissed the writ petition
and also imposed cost of Rupees One Lakh on Appellant
besides directing her to vacate the tenantei:t premises in
question within one week. On the very next day after
expiry of one week, Respondent No.2 filed contempt
E petition ·against the Appellant which was taken up by the
Court on the same day and the Appellant directed to
appear before the Court the following day. No one
appeared on behalf of the Appellant. Non-bailabie'wari"ant
of arrest was is'sued against the Appellant and the Court
F passed orders directing the Police authorities to take
possession of the premises in question and hand over
the same to Respondent No. 2. Hence the present appeal.
)-
Allowing the appeal, the Court
G liELD:1.The decision in the said writ petition call's
not only for intervention by this Court but also for certain
observations to be made regarding the manner in which
the powers of the High Court under Article 226 of the
Constitution have been misapplied. [Para 11] [314-G,
H 315-A]

)
1r---
SHANTI DEVI v. STATE OF SIKKIM AND ANR. 309

2.1. What is of grave concern is the fact tha·t the A
Judges completely disregarded the civil law relating to
eviction and directed the writ petitioner-appellant to hand
over possession of the tenanted premises to respondent
No.2. The case in hand is an example of how the writ
courts have in recent times either forgotten or ignored B
the line between the reliefs which could be given by the
Civil Courts and the Constitutional Courts. The Judges
appear to have lost sight of the fact that they were
deciding a writ petition for reliefs prayed for by the writ
petitioner and not a civil suit for eviction against her and c
that in such a proceeding no mandatory order of eviction
could be passed and certainly not against the writ
petitioner herself. In fact, after imposing the cost of
Rupees one lakh while dismissing the writ petition, the
Judges added insult to injury by directing the writ
0
petitioner to also vacate the premises, where she was
running her business for about thirty years, within a week
from the date of the order. [Para 21] [320-E, F, G, H; 321-A]
2.2. While deciding the writ petition, the Judges

•\
'
appear to have shifted their focus from the reliefs prayed E
for in the writ petition to what relief could be given to the
respondents therein. The Judges do not appear to have
considered the fact that the appellant had complied with
all the requirements except the requirement of obtaining
a 'No Objection Certificate' from respondent No. 2 who F
was· bent upon evicting her from the tenanted premises

•
-f
from where she was running her business. The
constitutional issues raised by the appellant regarding the
provisions of the Sikkim Trade Licence and Miscellaneous
Provisions Rules, 1985, were neither considered nor G
addressed by the Judges while disposing of the writ
petition. [Para 22] [321-D, E, F, G]
2.3. If the Judges were of the view that the writ
petitioner was not entitled to any of the reliefs prayed for
in the writ petition they should have simply dismissed the H
310 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2008] 2 S.C.R.

A same with reasonable costs, if at all thought necessary.
·~ ....
One is unable to fathom the thought - process of the
Judges which caused them to impose a cost of Rs. One
lakh while dismissing the writ petition ..No .special
.

circumstances have been indicated by the Judges in their
B impugned order to indicate why such a heavy cost was
required to be imposed on the writ petitioner. [Para 13]
[315-C, 0, E] ... ...
3.1. What is even more surprising and of some
concern is the alacrity and despatch with which orders
c were passed on the contempt petition filed by respondent
No.2 on the very next day after the expiry of the stipulated
period indicated in the mandatory directions given by the
Judges directing the appellant to vacate the premises in
question within one week from the date of the order.
D [Para 14] [315-E, F]
3.2. While the appellant was given time till 3.7.2006 to
vacate the tenanted premises, on the next day orders 1(-
were passed for the appellant to appear before the Court
and also to file her reply to the allegations made in the
E contempt petition. The dates speak of the haste with
which the orders were passed in the contempt petition
which had the effect of ensuring that respondent No.2
obtained possession of the shop-room before the
appellant could take any steps before the higher forum
F against the said orders. [Para 15] [316-0, E]
3.3. Losing sight of the fact that the notice on the
appellant had been issued on a contempt application and
was required to be personally served on the alleged
contemnor, the Judges before passing the draconian
G order did not even verify whether the notice of the
\
contempt proceedings had been se..Ved personally on the )--''
. contemnor and that despite such service the alleged
_,,
contemnor had failed to act in terms of the notice. Without
waiting for any response from the appellant the Judges
H came to a finding that it was a clear case of contempt of
-
""!'(
\
SHANTI DEVI v. STATE OF SIKKIM AND ANR. 311

""" ....
court as the appellant had willfully defied the order and A
judgment of the High Court passed in the appellant's writ
petition. [Para 17] [319-A, 8, C, D]
3.4. The appellant in her application for stay of
operation of the orders passed by the High Court on

. ~
05.07 .2006 in the Contempt proceedings, has quite lucidly 8
explained as to why the contempt notice could not be
served on her on 04.07 .2006 as a result whereof she could
not present herself before the High Court on 5.7.2006 as
directed. The appellant has explained that having regard
J to the short time frame within which she had been directed c
to vacate the tenanted premises, she had to come to Delhi
immediately in order to file the Special Leave Petition
giving rise to this appeal. She has categorically indicated
that on 04.07 .2006 she was in Delhi and the question of
avoidance of the contempt notice or any deliberate D
intention on her part to disobey the same did not arise. ln
- )o. her said application the appellant has also mentioned the
fact that her son had received the contempt notice and
.... had thereafter telephoned her in Delhi informing her of
the same. [Para 19] [320-A, 8, C, D] E
3.5. Having regard to the aforesaid facts, the order
passed on the contempt application directing possession
to be taken by the Police authorities and to make over the
same to respondent No.2, appears to be in gross abuse
of the due process of law which cannot at all be sustained. F,
[Para 20] [320-D, E]
4. The order of the High Court is set aside and it is
directed to reconsider the matter afresh. Having regard
to the arbitrary and unlawful manner in which possession G
of the premises in question was made over to respondent
No.2, the said respondent is directed to restore
possession of the premises in question to the appellant
within a fortnight. The cost imposed by the impugned
judgment and the contempt proceedings are also
H
312 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2008] 2 S.C:R.

A quashed. [Para 23] [321-H, 322-A, B]
CIVILAPPELLATE JURISDICTION: Civil Appeal No.687
of 2008.

From the final Judgment and Order dated 26.06.2006 of .
B the High Court of Sikkim in Writ Petition (C) No. 24 of 2006.
Manish Gowami (for Mis. Map & Co.) for the Appellant.
Aruna Mathur (for Mis. Arputham, Aruna & Co.) Malavika
Raj Ketia and Bankan Kumar (for V. Sivasubramanian) for the
c Respondents.
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by
ALTAMAS KABIR, J. 1. Leave granted.
2. This is one of those rare cases in which the decision
D impugned in the appeal not only merits intervention but also calls
for certain observations to be made in respect of the order itself.
3. The appellant and her husband, Ram Nath Prasad, were
running a grocery-cum-stationery shop in· a rented premises
owned by the respondent No.2 herein, at Ranipool in East
E Sikkim. The Trade Licence for running the aforesaid business
was in the name of Mis Ram Nath Prasad.
4. Ram Nath Prasad died on 17 .3.2004 leaving his widow,
Shanti Devi, the appellant he~ein, to run the business from the
F said rented premises. The appellant continued to run the
business in the name of Mis Shanti Enterprises and on 1.7.2004
she applied to the concerned authorities for issuance of a fresh
Trade Licence in the name of her firm Mis Shanti Enterprises.
For the sake of abundant caution, on 9.7.2004 she also filed an
G application with an alternative prayer for changing the subsisting
Trade Licence from the name of Mis Ram Nath Prasad to Mis
Shanti Enterprises.
5. It may be mentioned that prior to her said application
the respondent No.2-landlord had on 19.5.. 2004 written to the
H respondent No.1 indicating that Ram Nath Prasad had expired
SHANTI DEVI v. STATE OF SIKKIM AND ANR. 313
[ALTAMAS KABIR, J.]

and that the existing Trade Licence for the aforesaid business A
should not be renewed and no fresh Trade Licence should be
issued in the name of the sons of Ram Nath Prasad without a
'No Objection Certificate' from him, in his capacity as the owner
of the said premises.
6. On 23.8.2004, the concerned authorities informed the B
appellant that the Trade Licence issued in the name of M/s Ram
Nath Prasad was to be treated as cancelled under Rule 12(m)
of the Sikkim Trade Licence and Misc. Provisions Rules, 1985,
with immediate effect. The said direction was given despite the
fact that the appellant's application for transferring the Trade C
Licence from the name of M/s Ram Nath Prasad to M/s Shanti
Enterprises, was pending decision along with the· appellant's
application for issuance of a fresh licence in the name of Mis
Shanti Enterprises.
7. Aggrieved by the said order dated 23.8.2004 cancelling D'
the Trade Licence issued in the name of M/s Ram Nath Prasad,
the appellant filed a writ petition, being Writ Petition (C) No.32
of 2004, in the Sikkim High Court on the ground that the
impugned order was illegal, having been passed in violation of
Articles 21, 14, 19 and ·300 (A) of the Constitution of India. E,
Besides praying for the quashing of the said order dated
23.8.2004 the appellant also prayed for certain other reliefs,
including a declaration that the provisions of Rule 12(m) of the
Sikkim Trade Licence and Misc. Provisions Rules, 1985, were
l
arbitrary and in violation of Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution F
and were liable to be struck down.
8. The said writ petition was disposed of at the very initial
stage on 15.9.2004 with liberty to the appellant or any of her
representatives to meet the Joint Secretary, Licence Section, G,
Urban Development and Housing Department of the State
Government, for guidance in the matter of compliance with
whatever requirements that were required to be complied with.
The concerned authority was, directed to dispose of the
representation of the appellant within one month from the date H
-" -
314 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2008] 2 S.C.R.

-t ....-"
A of intimation of the order passed by the High Court.
9. Pursuant to the above observations made by the High
Court, the appellant applied to the concerned authority on
1.7.2004 and by its letter dated 17.9.2004 the said authority
directed the appellant to submit necessary documents for grant
B
of a separate Trade Licence. One of the documents which was
required to be submitted was a 'No Objection Certificate' from .. ..
the landlord/respondent No.2. Since, according to the appellant
the respondent No.2 was bent upon evicting her from the said
premises, she informed the respondent-authority, that the
c respondent No.2 was not willing to provide the appellant with
such 'No Objection Certificate' and accordingly prayed that she
be exempted from submitting the same. Despite the fact that )ii
the appellant had complied with all the other requirements and
had prayed for exemption from submitting the 'No Objection
D Certificate', the respondent authority by its letter dated·
14.10.2004 informed the appellant that her request for grant of
a Trade Licence could not be considered in the absence of a .,,_
'No Objection Certificate' from the house owner. Instead, she
was directed to close down her business with effect from
E 15.10.2004.
10. Since it was impossible to obtain a 'No Objection
Certificate' from the respondent No.2/landlord who was bent
upon evicting her from the premises in question, the appellant
filed a fresh writ petition, being Writ Petition No.24/2006, before
F the Sikkim High Court, inter alia, renewing her prayer for transfer
of the Trade Licence issued in favour of M/s Ram Nath Prasad
to the appellant and also for striking down the requirements of
obtaining a 'No Objection Certificate' from the house-owner
together with the provisions of Rule 12(m) of the Sikkim Trade
G Licence and Misc. Provisions Rules, 1985, as being arbitrary
)-
and illegal.
11. It is the decision in the said writ petition which has given
rise to this appeal and calls not only for intervention by this Court
but also for certain observations to be made regarding the
H
.....
I

SHANTI DEVI v. STATE OF SIKKIM AND ANR. 315
[ALTAMAS KABIR, J.]

manner in which the powers of the High Court under Article 226 A
of the Constitution have been misapplied.
12. The appellant, who had filed the writ petition, inter alia,
for a direction to the concerned authorities either to transfer the
Trade Licence in the name of Mis Ram Nath Prasad to M/s
B
Shanti Enterprises or in the alternative for issuance of a fresh
Trade Licence in her favour was not only made to suffer an order
of dismissal of her writ petition with costs assessed at Rupees
one lakh, but was also handed a mandatory order of eviction
directing her to vacate the premises in question within a \'\'.eek
from the date of the order. C,
13. We cannot help but observe that not only was the said
order passed without jurisdiction, but the same was also
arbitrary and injudicious to say the least. If the learned Judges
were of the view that the writ petitioner was not entitled to any of D
the reliefs prayed for in the writ petition they should have simply
dismissed the same with reasonable costs, if at all thought
necessary. We are unable to fathom the thought - process of
the learned Judges which caused them to impose a cost of Rs.
One lakh while dismissing the writ petition. No special
circumstances have been indicated by the learned Judges in E
their impugned order to indicate why such a heavy cost was
required to be imposed on the writ petitioner.
14. What is even more surprising and of some concern is
the alacrity and despatch with which orders were passed on F'
-l the contempt petition fil~d by the respondent No.2 on the very
I
next day after the expiry of the stipulated period indicated in the
mandatory directions given by the learned Judges directing the
appellant to vacate the premises in question within one week
from the date of the order. The facts, as revealed in l.A.No.1 of Gi
f 2006, filed by the appellant in the Special Leave Petition, reveals
;~ a sordid tale of how the judicial process was used to perpetrate
an illegality which had its origin in the order of the learned Judges
disposing of the writ petition filed by the appellant.
15. It may be noted that the order disposing of the writ H
,,,+·
316 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2008] 2 S.C.R.

~ ...
A petition filed by the appellant was passed on 26.6.2006 and
the period of one week given by the learned Judges to the
appellant to vacate the tenanted premises !apsed on 3.7.2006.
The contempt petition was filed by the respondent No.2 on
4. 7 .2006 and was immediately taken up for hearing on the same
B day on which it was filed and the appellant was directed to
appear before the Court on the very next day to reply to the
allegations made by the respondent No.2. in the contempt
petition. In addition to the above direction to the appellant, a ~ '"'
furth~r direction was given to the Officer in-Charge of Ranipool

c Police· Station, to produce the appellant before the Court on
5.7.2006. The Registry was also directed to furnish a copy of
the order along with the contempt petition to the Officer in-
Charge, Ranipool Police Station, to enable him to hand over
the same to the appellant with liberty to her to file her reply to the
contempt application on 5.7.2006 itself. It will, therefore, be
D
evident from the above that while the appellant was given time
till 3.7.2006 to vacate the tenanted premises, on the next day
orders were passed for the appellant to appear before the Court
-...--
and also to file her reply to the allegations made in the contempt
petition. The dates speak of the haste with which the orders
E were passed in the contempt petition which had the effect of
ensuring that the respondent No2 obtained possession of the
shop-room before the appellant could take any steps before
the higher forum against the said orders.

F 16. To make matters even worse, on 5.7.2006 itself the
)..
learned Judges, throwing all restraint to the winds, passed an
order which merits reproduction and is reproduced hereinbelow:
"Despite directions and orders of this Court in terms of
the order dated 04.07.2006, it appears to us that Smt.
G Shanti Devi is avoiding to receive the notice served upon
her by the Registry of this Court and rather absconding ~'
herself thus defying not only the order dated 04.07.2006
passed in this Contempt Case (C) No.03 of 2006 but also
the Order dated 26.06.2006 passed in the Writ Petition
H (C) No.24 of 2006.
SHANTI DEVLv. STATE OF SIKKIM AND ANR. 317
[ALTAMAS KABIR, J.]

None appears on behalf of Smt. Shanti Devi. On perusal A
of the notice it reveals that notice was received by one '
Kameshwar Prasad, son of Smt. Shanti Devi who is living
with the said Smt. Shanti Devi in the same house. At this
stage, we are of the view that it is a clear case of Contempt
of Court as Smt. Shanti Devi willfully defied the related B
Order and Judgment of this Court passed on 26.06.2006
in Writ Petition (C) No.24 of 2006. It may be mentioned ,
that she are defined the Order dated 04.07.2006 passed
by this Court in Contempt Case (C) No.03 of 2006.
'

After application of our mind in this matter and strictly C
interpreting the Law of Contempt, ~e opine that Smt.
Shanti Devi obstructed and interfered with the due course
of judicial proceedings of this Court. In view of the above
position, this Court at this stage pass the following orders
and directions: D
Non-Bailable Warrant of Arrest be issued against Smt.
Shanti Devi. The Chief Judicial Magistrate (East & North)
shall comply with this direction immediately and Smt.
Shanti Devi shall be produced before this Court on
07.07.2006 at 10.30 AM. It is also made clear that the E
Police Department shall make their best endeavor to
comply and execute the order of this Court to meet the '
ends of Justice for which a copy of this order, be sent to
the Director General of Police as well as to the
'A
Superintendent of Police, East District and O.C. F
concerned. The Registry is directed to take immediate ,
action in this matter.
It is also further made clear that if the petitioner is outside
the State, the police authority shall contact their counterpart G
of any other State or States for production of Smt. Shanti
Devi before this Court on the date and time mentioned
above.
In view of the existing facts and circumstances of the case,
the District Collector/District Magistrate, East District is H
318 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2008] 2 S.C.R.

A hereby appointed as the Receiver of the articles now lying
at the premises of the applicant/petitioner Shri Subhash
Kumar Pradan of Ranipool and, the District Collector/
Magistrate, East is authorized to break-open the lock(s),
if any found in the said premises and to dispose of all the
B articles by public auction and the sale proceeds of it shall ,,
be deposited in the Registry of this Court or he is at liberty
·to hand over the same to Smt. Shanti Devo or her
authorized agent or agents ahd hand over the possession
of the said premises to the owner concerned (Shri Subash
c Kumar Pradhan) with immediate effect for which the Police
Department shall cooperate and shall make their best
endeavor to execute the Order of this Court. The District
Collector/Magistrate, East is directed to dispose of all
those articles within 3 (three) days and submit a report to
the Registry of this Court.
D
The District Collector/Magistrate, East is to prepare an
inventory of the articles in the presence of two local
residents and put the articles on public auction as the said
Smt. Shanti Devi claims that some goods are perishable
E and some are not perishable in the related application
submitted by her in the connected main Writ Petition. At
the very outset this Court took the assistance of the learned
Advocate General who submitted that the conduct of Smt.
Shanti Devi virtually amounts to insult to the Court not only
F defiance of the related Court's orders.
The matter be listed on 07.07.2006 for necessary orders.
Let a copy of this Order be also sent to all concerned.
Sd/-
G (N.S.Singh)
Acting Chief Justice
Sd/-
(A.P. Subba)
Judge"
H
• j.. SHANTI DEVI v. STATE OF SIKKIM AND ANR. 319
[ALTAMAS KABIR, J.]

'...; ~ 17. Losing sight of the fact that the notice on the appellant A
~ had been issued on a contempt application and was required
~ to be personally served on the alleged contemnor, the learned
Judges before passing the draconian order did not even verify
whether the notice of the contempt proceedings had been
served personally on the contemnor and that despite such B
service the alleged contemnor had failed to act in terms of the
... notice. As will be apparent from the order of 5. 7 .2006 the learned
")/
Judges recorded the fact that no one had appeared on behalf
of the appellant and that on perusal of the notice it was seen
that the same had been received by the son of the appellant. c
Further more, without waiting for any response from the appellant
the learned Judges came to a finding that it was a clear case of
contempt of.court as the appellant had willfully defied the order
and judgment of the High Court passed on 26.06.2006 in the
appellant's writ petition. What follows thereafter is nothing short
D
of authoritarianism and complete disregard of the principles of
fair play in judicial proceedings. A non-bailable warrant of arrest
was issued against the appellant on 5.7.2006 with a direction
--;..-
on the Chief Judicial Magistrate (East and North) to ensure
production of the appellant before the Court on 07.07.2006 at
10.30 a.m. Directions were also given to the Police Department E
to execute the order of the Court and a copy thereof was sent to
the Director General of Police as well as to the Superintendent
· of Police, East District, together with the Officer in-Charge
concerned. The District Collector/ District Magistrate (East
District), was appointed·as Receiver of the articles lying in the F
,,. l.
appellant's tenanted premises with authority not only to the
District Magistrate but also to the respondent No.2 to break-
open the lock(s); if any found in the said premises and to dispose
of all the articles by public auction. The District Magistrate was
also directed, after breaking open the locks to hand over the G
possession of the premises in question to the respondent No.2.
i .... "i'
18. The possession of the appellant's tenanted premises
was made over to the respondent No.2 pursuant to the aforesaid
orders in the manner aforesaid.
H
320 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2008] 2 S.C.R.

A 19. At this juncture it may be noted that the appellant in her ~ ....
application for stay of operation of the or?ers. passed by the
Sikkim High Court on 05.07 .2006 in the Contempt proceedings,
has quite lucidly explained as to why the contempt notice could
not be served on her on 04.07.2006 as a result whereof she
B could not present herself before the High Court on 5.7.2006 as
directed. The appellant has explained that having regard to the
short time frame within which she had been directed to vacate
the tenanted premises, she had to come to Delhi immediately ~
~

in order to file the Special Leave Petition giving rise to this
c appeal. She has categorically indicated that on 04.07.2006 she
was in Delhi and the question of avoidance of the contempt
notice or any deliberate intention on her part to disobey the same
did not arise. In her said application the appellant has also
mentioned the fact that her son had received the contempt notice
and .had thereafter telephoned her in Delhi informing her of the
D
same.
20. Having regard to the aforesaid facts, the order passed
on the contempt application directing possession to be taken
"1'--
by the Police authorities and to make over the same to the
E respondent No.2, appears to be in gross abuse of the due
.
process of law which cannot at all be sustained.
21. What is of grave concern is the fact that the learned
Judges completely disregarded the civil law relating to eviction
and directed the writ petitioner on her writ petition for different
F reliefs to hand over possession of the tenanted premises to the
respondent No.2. The case in hand is an example of how the .J- J
writ courts have in recent times either forgotten or ignored the
line between the reliefs which could be given by the Civil Courts
and the Constitutional Courts. The learned Judges appear to
G have lost sight of the fact that they were deciding a writ petition
.----
for reliefs prayed for by the writ petitioner and not a civil suit for I
i
eviction against her and that in such a proceeding no mandatory ~~

order of eviction could be passed and certainly not against the
writ petitioner herself. In fact, after imposing the cost of Rupees
H one lakh while dismissing the writ petition, the learned Judges L-
I---

'
t-
'"+.
SHANTI DEVI v. STATE OF SIKKIM AND ANR. 321
[ALTAMAS KABIR, J.]
,...... }" added insult to injury by directing the writ petitioner to also vacate A
the premises, where she was running her business for about .
thirty years, within a week from the date of the order.
22. While deciding the writ petition, the learned Judges
appear to have shifted their focus from the reliefs prayed for in
the writ petition to what relief could be given to the respondents B
therein. This appears to be the reason for the learned Judges
;...
~ to have passed a mandatory order of eviction on the appellant's
writ petition, wherein she had, inter alia, prayed for a direction
on the authorities to issue a fresh Trade Licence to her on her
husband's death. The learned Judges referred to the order c
passed in the earlier writ petition filed by the appellant for similar
reliefs which had been disposed of with a direction to the
appellant to approach the Joint Secretary of the concerned
department for guidance as to how the requirements for the grant
of a Trade Licence could be complied with. The learned Judges D
do not appear to have considered the fact that the appellant
had complied with all the requirements except the requirement
_..,... of obtaining a "No Objection Certificate " from the respondent
No. 2 who was bent upon evicting her from the tenanted premises
from where she was running her business. The learned Judges E
generally observed that the appellant had totally failed to comply
with the directions and the terms and conditions contained in
the State's letter dated 17.9.2004. The order imposing cost of
Rupees One Lakh and directing the appellant to vacate her
tenanted premises and to deliver possession thereof to the F
, .. ...!._
respondent No. 2 follows such observation. The constitutional
issues raised by the appellant regarding the provisions of the
Sikkim Trade Licence and Miscellaneous Provisions Rules,
1985, were neither considered nor addressed by the learned
~
Judges while disposing of the writ petition. The learned Judges
G
have, in fact, observed that it was not necessary for the C.ourt to
~ ·-( go into the matter in depth as the writ petition deserved to be
dismissed with heavy costs.
23. In the aforesaid circumstances, we have no hesitation
in setting aside the order of the High Court dated 26.6.2006 H
322 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2008] 2 S.C.R.

A and to direct the High Court to reconsider the matter afresh.
Having regard to the arbitrary and unlawful manner in which
possession of the premises in question was made over to the
respondent No.2 the said respondent is directed to restore
possession of the premises in question to the appellant within
B a fortnight from date. The cost imposed by the impugned
judgment and the contempt proceedings are also quashed.
24. This order will not preclude either of the parties from
pursuing their reliefs, if any, further before the appropriate forum.
c 25. The appeal is accordingly allowed with cost of
Rs.25,000/- to the appellant.·
B.B.B. Appeal allo~ed.

..,._
. .
)