SC stays HP high court’s contempt action against Rajasthan chief secy

Jaipur: The Supreme Court Wednesday stayed contempt proceedings pending before Himachal Pradesh High Court against the Rajasthan chief secretary and other officers in a land allotment dispute involving Pong Dam oustees, while agreeing to examine whether contempt jurisdiction can be used to grant substantive relief beyond the scope of the original writ order.The case, State of Rajasthan vs Ashwani Kumar Sharma & Ors, along with a connected matter filed by the State, was heard by a bench of justice JK Maheshwari and Justice Atul S Chandurkar. The dispute concerns allotment of agricultural land in Rajasthan under the Pong Dam rehabilitation scheme in the command area of the Indira Gandhi Canal Project. A person (respondent) sought allotment of a specific piece of land (murabba), but Rajasthan opposed the claim, contending that land had already been allotted to the respondent's father.Appearing for the state, additional advocate general Shiv Mangal Sharma argued that the Himachal Pradesh HC exceeded its contempt jurisdiction. He submitted that the original writ order dated March 29, 2011 did not direct allotment of any specific parcel of land. Despite that, the High Court, in contempt proceedings, ordered allotment of a particular *murabba*, delivery of possession, and issued coercive directions against Raj govt officers. tnn