Violation of each and every direction does not call for initiation of contempt: Delhi HC in IFS Chaturvedi case

New Delhi: In a significant observation in a case related to supply of IB report to Uttarakhand cadre IFS officer, Sanjiv Chaturvedi, the Delhi High Court has said that the violation of each and every direction issued by it does not call for initiation of contempt proceedings.

A bench of Justices Anil Kshetarpal and Harish Vaidyanathan passed this order on August 12, 2025, while hearing a contempt petition filed by Chaturvedi, who alleged repeated wilful disobedience of orders issued by a division bench to Central Public Information Officer (CPIO) of Intelligence Bureau (IB), to bring before the court relevant records including the IB report on the officer.

The bench in its order further said that, the contempt proceedings cannot be initiated against an office, since the respondent has not even provided the name of the contemnor.

"The initiation of contempt proceedings is a serious matter and it should not be resorted to ordinarily. The bench while hearing the appeal possesses sufficient power to compel a party to the litigation to produce documents. However, violation of each and every direction issued by the bench does not call for initiation of contempt proceedings," the bench said in its order.

The division bench had first issued these orders to IB on July 27, 2023 and then again on August 21, 2024. 

However, as per contempt petition filed by Chaturvedi, CPIO of IB did not produce these records before court and hence he had sought initiation of contempt proceedings against CPIO, for willful, disobedience of court orders.

The dispute began in May, 2014, when the then Secretary Ministry of Environment, forest and Climate Change (MoEF& CC) wrote a letter to then Director, IB, to give a report on assessment to threat to life of Chaturvedi. However, MoEF&CC, declined to give this report to the officer under RTI Act. In April, 2016, on appeal of Chaturvedi, Central Information Commission had ordered CPIO of IB to provide a copy of IB report, to him. IB challenged this order before Delhi High Court.

In a detailed order passed in August, 2017, the appeal of IB was dismissed. 

After that, IB moved an appeal before division bench, in October, 2017, which is being heard.

Disposing of the contempt petition, the court noted the division bench which is scheduled to hear the appeal filed by the CPIO, IB, on September 10, 2025, possessed sufficient power to compel a party to the litigation to produce documents.

In March, last year, Justice Mini Pushkarna had issued contempt notices on petition of Chaturvedi to CPIO of CBI, without naming him. 

It was contended that the IB has neither website nor name of CPIO in public domain. Under Section 2 (b) of Contempt of Court Act, 1971, willful disobedience of each and every judgement, order, direction and decree of court has been defined as civil contempt and attracts contempt proceedings.