Full and Final Settlements upon Termination of Contract of Employment

Definition of Full and Final Settlement

The process of an employee leaving a company is an important process for the human resource department. Usually, the process involves multiple stages: first is the initiation of the employee- company separation process wherein the employee notifies the management about his intent to leave the company. This may be followed by talk of counselling or negotiations between the employee and the company. Thereafter the company approves the resignation of the employee. Following this, any dues that are to be given to the employees are paid off. There may even be an exit interview with the employee wherein the company may seek feedback about the employee’s work experience from him/ her. The final stage of the separation process is that of full and final settlement wherein all the remaining dues to the employee are paid and which officially brings a close to the employee/ employer relationship. 

When someone in the capacity of an employee leaves a company, the person is entitled to the last month’s pay of his work with the employer. ‘Final Settlement’ is the process of paying off the leaving employee. Final settlement is conducted either in the last working month of the employee on which he or she is on the payroll or is performed after the employee has stopped working. This means that the employee’s payment can either be first settled before the employee officially resigns or it the employee can resign first and then his payment can be settled at a later point in time.

A full and final settlement is usually done in the form of a settlement contract which signifies the end of employer and employee relationship between the parties. However, a full and final settlement does not always mean that the employer is no longer liable to provide the leaving employee of his or her benefits. That is to say, even after the termination of the contract of employment, the employer is still required to pay gratuity to the leaving employee since by law the employer cannot contract with the employee to not pay gratuity.

How is the Final Settlement amount calculated?

There are a number of factors which have to be considered when determining the final and full settlement of an employee. These factors include:

·         Any unpaid salary or any arrears in salary. This amount includes any annual benefits that are due to the employee like travel allowances. This unpaid salary is calculated by multiplying the employee’s gross salary with the number of days for which the employee has to be paid and diving the sum amount by 26, which are the number of paid days in a month.

·         Any unpaid bonus is also calculated into this amount.

·         Any unavailed leaves are also calculated into this amount. This number is calculated by multiplying the number of days of non-availed leaves by the basic salary of the employees. And then this sum amount is divided by 26, which is the total number of working days in a month. The Factories Act, 1948 provisions for unpaid leave dues under section 79(11). As per this provision, any unpaid leave dues are required to be paid off by the employer before the 7th and 10th of the month following the resignation of the employee. The Shops and Establishment Acts of various states also provision for payment of unsettled amounts. For example, the Karnataka Shops and Commercial Establishments Act, 196, under section 15(3), provides that all unpaid leave dues should be paid before the 7th and 10th of the next month.

·         Any employment gratuity is also calculated into the final and full settlement amount. The Payment of Gratuity of Act, 1972 provides under section 7(3) that gratuity should be paid within 30 days of the employee’s resignation. If gratuity is not paid within the stipulated time period, then interest will be added to the gratuity amount provided that the employee has complete four years and 240 days with the employer.

·         Pension is also a part of the full and final amount. However, pensions will only form part of the full and final amount if the leaving employee has been in service of the employer for at least six months and also has also completed ten years of pensionable service at the time of providing the Scheme Certificate post the retirement age of the employee, which is set at 58 years of age.

·         Deductions include income tax, provident fund, any application profession tax and also any compensation for which the employer did not serve any notice to the leaving employee. The money earned on a paid leave as well as gratuity is exempt from TDS (tax deducted at source). All other forms of payments to the leaving employee will attract TDS according to the tax laws of India as per Section 192 of the Income Tax Act, 1961. Moreover, under section 72(5) of the Employees Provident Fund and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952, all employers need to forward the Employees Provident Fund claim forms within a time period of five days from the date of the employee submits his or her claim.

How long does the full and final settlement process take?

A full and final settlement, usually, is done on the employee’s last working day with his or her employer. However, the process of clearing the final settlement is not immediate and usually takes about 30 to 45 days to process the amount. This means that the final full and final settlement is paid only after the employee has left the company. If the employee has to be paid gratuity as well, then it is paid 30 days after the employee leaves the company. On the other hand, if the bonuses are due to the employee then they should be paid within that accounting year.

Helpful pointers to facilitate smooth full and final settlement process

·         Ensure that any advance that was taken from the employers is settled. And if not, then ensure that it gets adjusted in the final settlement amount.

·         Ensure that you obtain copies of the different clearances that are needed from the various departments of the company.

·         It is prudent on part of the resigning employee to ensure that the final settlement process is carried out as per procedure. To do this, it is good practice to become familiar with the employer company’s policies. Hence, the employee should go through the company’s human resources policies, the employee rule book as well as any standing orders or notices passed by the company. These documents and policies are by rule available to the employees of a company. In case they are not made available, then they can be asked for by the employer company.

·         Make all communications with the employer in written instead of verbal and ensure that the Human Resource department is informed of such communications.

Laws applicable

On the event that there is some issue with the payment of the Full and Final Settlement amount and the resigning employee feels the need to take legal recourse, the following laws are applicable to the matter of full and final settlement:

·         Industrial Employment Standing Orders Act, 1946.

·         Shops and Establishment Act.

·         Industrial Disputes Act, 1947.

·         Payment of Wages Act, 1936

Usually, problems with full and final settlement arise with respect to the notice period. Numerous court cases have stated that whichever party, either the employee or the employer that does not honour their contractual commitments will be the one who will have to compensate the other party. If an employer is terminating employees’ en mass, then the employer will first have to seek permission for the same from the relevant government body also the concerned authority that has been specified by the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 and inform them that the employer intends to mass terminate the contract of its employees. The legislation has provisions that require the employers to give employees the termination notice with an adequate amount of notice period. If adequate notice is not given, then the employer should give the employees adequate compensation as per that particular industry standard.

In the case of Bennett Coleman & Co. (P) Ltd v. PunyaPriya Das Gupta (AIR 1970 SC 426) is an important case relevant to full and final settlement. In this case, the employee had resigned from his company and had claimed the dues for the period of his leave. In the process of receiving his full and final settlement from his employer, the employee signed a receipt which did not contain the payment of dues for his period of leave. The Supreme Court, in this case, held that the employee was entitled to claim such dues for the period of leave as he had not waived off his rights to claim the said dues as part of his full and final settlement.

In the case of Automotive and Allied Industries v. Regional Provident Fund [(1990) 95 BOMLR 740], the Bombay High Court held that when the full and final settlement process has been completed, the employee later cannot claim any other amount from the employer. In doing so, the High Court allowed that any statutory benefit could be waived off. However, section 14 of the Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972 states gratuity has to be paid by the employer and its payment cannot be waived off by any contract or statutory provision. This case can be used to argue the point that a statutory benefit that enables a rise to a claim on part of the employee can be waived through a contract. But it must also be noted that gratuity is an amount of money that is paid when an employee dies, retires or is superannuated. The significance and importance of gratuity cannot be negated or overpowered by a contractual clause or consent on part of the employee. Gratuity is a legislative and statutory provision that has serves a welfare purpose and backed by a moral reasoning and courts should be mindful of this the significance of gratuity when deciding matters related to full and final payment with respect to gratuity.

In the case of Burroughs Wellcome (I) Ltd. v. Jagannath Namdeo Patel and Ors. [2006 (1) Bom CR 812], the Bombay High Court, the issue was regarding the employee’s complaint of non-payment of wages and whether the inclusion of Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS) negated the employees’ claim. The Court held that once the employees have availed of the Voluntary Retirement Scheme, they cannot file a complaint against the employer since they have waived off their claims under the Voluntary Retirement Scheme. This is because Voluntary Retirement Scheme was a contractual term between the employee and the employer and the court does not have the power to rewrite the terms of a contract.

In the case of L. Ravi v. The Presiding Officer [(W. P. No.2442 of 2008)], the employee had resigned from his company and had also received all of his dues through the full and final settlement process. However, the employee had alleged that he had been threatened to resign from the position by the General Manager of the company. Here, the Madras High Court had rejected the employee’s claim on the grounds that the employee had received all of his dues on the same date as his resignation through full and final settlement. The completion of full and final settlement indicated that all relationships between the employee and the employer had come to an end and if the employee had actually been coerced into resigning, then the company would not have given his full and final settlement on the same day as his resignation.

Format for a letter of Full and Final Settlement

Given below is a general format for a letter of Full and Final Settlement that can be relied upon:

To,

The GM-HR

_____(Enter the name of the employer/ company)

_____(Enter date)

Re: Issue of Full and Final Settlement

Dear Sir or Madam,

This is to inform you that it has been ___ days since my resignation from your company and I have not yet received my fill and final settlement and the same is a concern to me. My resignation from the company is dated ____.

                           

I request you to process my full and final settlement and send me any due amount with regard to the same at the earliest. I request you to also send the original statement of the same as well.

Thank you.

Regards,

_____ (Enter your name)

_____ (Enter your present address)

Filing an FIR or Police Complaint Online

However, the problem faced by people when filing an FIR is that the process can often prove to be very tedious and some might even fact harassment at the hands of the police or non-cooperation if the police refuse to register the complaint/ FIR.

On the other hand, the police too are hard pressed to perform well when their work conditions are less than ideal. Many police stations are often understaffed and are overburdened by work. This makes processes that involve interacting with the public like filing FIRs a tedious task for the police officers which often leads to them coming off as apathetic or rude.

In order to make the process of filing FIRs easier, convenient and quick police departments in various cities have now made online FIRs available on their websites. Through online FIRs, people can now file FIRs with the police on their websites. The facility also allows them to track stolen vehicles and check the progress of their FIRs. Online FIRs have the benefit that they not only save people on time and money but also save them the trouble of being harassed by the police. Online FIR registration also gives the police more time to complete their own pending work, allows them to respond quickly and enables them to follow up on FIRs more effectively.  It should be noted that online FIRs are usually meant for minor offences and one should visit the police station in person for registering FIRs for grave offences like murder or rape.

Given below is the procedure for filing an FIR online with the police of the four metropolitan cities of India: New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai.

New Delhi                                                                       

In order to file an online FIR with the Delhi police, following the steps mentioned below:

1.    Visit the website of the Delhi Police at http://www.delhipolice.nic.in

2.    At the home page, click on the option listed as ‘Citizen Services’. You will be directed to a page which enlists a number of online services that the Delhi Police provides.

For filing FIR for lost possessions:

3.    On the Citizen Services page, click on the Lost and Found option.

4.    Under the heading of the Lost Article Report in the Lost and Found page, four headings should be visible: Retrieve; Register; Search Found Articles and FAQ. Click on the Register option.

5.    You will be taken to the registration page wherein details with being sought including the complainant’s name, address, email ID and description of the lost objects.

6.    After filling in the form, click on the Submit button.

7.    An e-FIR will be sent to your email address in PDF format.

E-FIRs can also be filed for thefts and thefts of motor vehicles. All the options are available at the Citizens Service page of the Delhi Police website. A similar procedure of registration (which asks for the complainant’s name, email address and phone number) has to be followed for the filing of all e- FIRs.

Mumbai

For filing of a complaint with the Mumbai police, follow the given procedure:

1. Visit the website of the Mumbai police at https://mumbaipolice.maharashtra.gov.in

2.    On the right-hand side of the page, scroll down the drop-down menu of the Contact Us option.

3.    You will see an option titled Lodge A Complaint.

4.    In the Complaint/ e-FIR form, you will have filled up some details which include your name, address, email ID, phone number and also the complaint that has to be registered. You will also have to choose the police station that has jurisdiction from the list in the drop-down menu.

5.    Next, to the option which asks you for your email ID, there is a button which reads ‘Get Code’. An OTP (One Time Password)/ Authoring Code will be sent to the given email address which is needed verifying the complaint and to enable the complainant to submit the complaint.  The complaint can only be registered upon entering the correct Authorising Code.

6.    Once the complaint is submitted, an FIR Number/ Complaint Number will be generated which shall be used by the complainant for tracking the status of the complaint in the future.

It must be noted that the e-FIR/ complaint can only be registered for non- cognizable offence which is not of serious nature. For all major crimes, which are usually cognizable offences, the complaint/ FIR cannot be made online and has to be made in person at the police station. Such major offences include crimes like murder, rape, theft, extortion, assault, attempt to murder, theft of motor vehicles etc. 

Kolkata

In order to file a complaint or e- FIR in Kolkata, follow the given steps:

1.    Visit the website of Kolkata Police at http://www.kolkatapolice.gov.in/

2.    Scroll down the home page and click on the icon titled Report A Crime.

3.    The page will ask you information about the complaint as well as contact information. This includes the complainant’s name, address, email address as well as the relevant police station. You will also have to fill in a description of the incident that has to be reported.

4.    Upon selecting the Send button, the complaint will be sent to the Kolkata Police and a confirmation for the same will be sent to the complainant’s email account.

It should be noted that online complaint/ e-FIR can be filed only for minor crimes. Moreover, the Kolkata Police website also explicitly states that responses to complaints filed online will not be addressed on an immediate and urgent basis.

                                              

Chennai

To file an online FIR or complaint with the Chennai police, following the steps are given below:

1.    Visit the Tamil Nadu Police website at http://www.tnpolice.gov.in/

2.    On the list of Online Services on the homepage, select the option Register Online Complaint. Clicking on the option will take you to the page where online complaints can be registered.

3.    The complaints page consists of four sections:

a.    First, you need to enter in the correct district of Tamil Nadu in which you want to file the complaint.

b.    Second, you will need to enter in details about yourself. This includes filling in your name, address, gender, date of birth, mobile number and your email ID.

c.    Third, you will need to enter details about the about the complaint you want to file. You will have to select the type of crime that you want to report followed by the date and place where the crime took place. You will also have to type in a short description of the crime.

4.    Lastly, the Tamil Nadu police website allows you to attach any documents to the complaint that you would like to share with the police.

5.    Once the form is filled, enter the verification code at the very bottom of the page and press the Register button.

Jharkhand

First Information Reports can be filed online with the Jharkhand police at their website https://jofs.jhpolice.gov.in/

There are two methods of filing an online FIR with the Jharkhand police: either using the Aadhaar card as identity proof or using other forms of identification.

If using the Aadhaar card for registration of FIR, follow the below-mentioned steps:

•    Enter in your Aadhaar number at the home page of Jharkhand police at https://jofs.jhpolice.gov.in/

•    Opt for OTP verification. You will receive a One Time Password on your phone number that has been registered with Aadhaar

•    Upon entering this One Time Password, you will be taken to the complaint form with the details of the complainant (as registered with Aadhaar) already filed in.

If filing the online complaint without using the Aadhaar card, follow the below-mentioned steps:

•    Go to the website of the Jharkhand police at https://jofs.jhpolice.gov.in/

•    On the bottom right corner of the box which is titled as ‘Instant Registration Using Aadhaar’, click on the text which says ‘Please Click Here’.

•    You will be directed to the complaint form page. Fill in the required information into the form. You will have to fill in the following details:

o    Personal details: Name, age and gender of the complainant

o    Full address of the complainant along with the pin code

o    Contact details of the complainant that include the complainant’s email address, phone number and mobile phone number.

o    A soft copy of the identity document of the complainant. The complainant will have to enter in the identification number and also upload a digital copy of the identity proof. The digital copy should be less than 3 MB in size and be of jpg, doc, docx or pdf format. The following documents of identity can be used by the complainant to register the online complaint with the Jharkhand police:

    Passport

    PAN card

    Driving licence

    Voter identity card

    Employee card

    Bank passbook

•    Next, the complainant will have to enter in the district in which the crime took place from the drop-down menu in the form. The complainant also has to fill in the exact name of the place whether the incident occurred.

•    After filling in above-mentioned information, the complainant has to fill in the details of the complaint. From the drop-down menu of the ‘Topic’ header, the complainant has to select what type of complaint he or she is going to file: it can be a criminal complaint or a cyber crime complaint. The complainant can also choose the Miscellaneous option if his or her complaint does not fall into any of these categories.

Thereafter, the complainant has to fill in the Subject of the complaint and write down the details of the crime that he or she wants to report. The applicant can also attach documents or other attachments to the complaint. However, such attachments have to be less than 3MB in size. They can be either in jpg, doc, docx or pdf format.

•    Lastly, the complainant has to enter in the One Time Password if required. After the form has been filled in, the complainant can now submit the complaint.

•    The status of the complaint filed by the complainant can also be checked online on the website of the Jharkhand police. On the top right corner of the website, click on the option titled JOFS FIR status.

•    Enter your mobile number or email address as well as the complaint ID and you can see the status of your complaint.

Orissa

Online complaints can be filed with the Orissa police by following the below mentioned procedure:

• Visit the website of Orissa police at https://citizenportal-op.gov.in/citizen/login.aspx

•    Click on the ‘Complaint’ option located in the middle of the homepage.

•    In order to register the complaint, the complainant has to first register with the Citizen Portal facility of the Orissa police. For this, click on the ‘Register’ option that is provided in the second last bullet that is displayed on the screen.

•    You will be taken to the Citizen Registration page wherein you will have to fill in your details like your name, email address, phone number, gender, date of birth, the Login ID that you would like and also the password that you would like for your Citizen Portal profile.

•    Thereafter, you can file the complaint on the website.

•    If you already have a Citizen Portal account then login through the Orissa police homepage and you can file the complaint thereafter.

•    Once a complaint is filed in the Citizen Portal, the complainant will be provided with a registration number and also be sent an acknowledgment.

•    At the same time, the Officer in Charge of the Police Station will receive an alert that a complaint has been filed online and the Officer will carry out the necessary actions.

•    When enquiring into the complaint, the complainant may also be contacted by a police officer.

Contempt of Court

Contempt of court is any action that is performed by any person in defiance of the authority of a court of law, an action that disrespects the court, or one that hinders the court from delivering justice. Usually, an offence of the contempt of court is between the court of law and the offender but if a third party is also found to be in contravention of the values the court then such a third party can also be held guilty for contempt of court. Judges, magistrates, law officers or any person who is authorised to act judicially can also be held liable for contempt of court in the same manner as any other individual. However, if a judge, magistrate or any person who has been authorised to act in a judicial capacity makes a remark or observation on the subordinate court in case of a revision or appeal before it, then such a judge, magistrate or the person authorised to act in judicial capacity cannot be held to be in contempt of subordinate court with regard to the judgement or order passed by the subordinate court.

There are usually four conditions that establish that a person has acted in contempt of the court:

1.    The court had made a legal and valid order,

2.    The person in contempt was in the knowledge of this order,

3.    The person in contempt was in the position to comply with the order, and

4.    The person in content deliberately and willfully disobeyed the order of the court.

The reason why contempt of court is a criminal and civil offence is so that the supremacy and dignity of law and the body that delivers justice and equity can be upheld. If people were to be allowed to indiscriminately disregard and disrespect the law then the trust of the society upon the law and the legal system would be broken, bringing about the downfall of the nation’s legal structure. This cannot be allowed to happen in any case and therefore the offence of contempt of court finds a place in civil and criminal law. It should be noted that the contempt of court as an offence does not seek to protect the person or judge that delivers justice but the institution of the court of law as a whole.

In order to uphold the machinery of delivery of justice, a court cannot impose a sentence of contempt of court until and unless it is completely satisfied that the alleged act of contempt of court interferes substantially or tents to interfere substantially in the process of delivery of justice.

Contempt of Court in India

There are two categories of contempt of court in India: Criminal Contempt of court and Civil Contempt of court.

•    Criminal contempt of court

The Contempt of Courts Act, 1971 defines criminal contempt under section 2(c). It says that any publication through any platform like written or spoken words, signs, visual representation or any other form, that fulfils any of the below-mentioned criteria is a contempt of court:

i.    A publication that lowers the standards or tends to lower the authority of the court;

ii.    A publication that scandalises or tends to scandalise the authority of the court;

iii.    A publication that interferes or prejudices or tends to interfere or prejudice the course of the court’s judicial proceedings;

iv.    A publication that interferes or obstructs or tends to interfere or obstruct the delivery of justice by the court.

•    Civil contempt of court

Civil contempt of court is defined in section 2(b) of the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971. As per this definition, civil contempt is any willful and voluntary disobedience of any order, decree, judgment, writ, direction or any other process of the court. It also includes the willful and deliberate breach of any undertaking that may be given to the court by the person in contempt.

Period of Limitation

The period of limitation within which a contempt of court proceeding of either criminal or civil nature can be filed is specified in Section 20 of the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971. Accordingly, a court has to initiate contempt of court proceeding within a time period of one year from the date when the alleged act of contempt was performed. After the expiry of this one year time period, the court can no longer take action against the accused.

Penalty for Contempt of Court

The punishment of contempt of court as provided for in Section 12 of the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971. The offence of contempt of court carries with the penalty of a prison term of a maximum period of six months, or a fine up to rupees two thousand, or both. However, this section also has a provision that if the accused makes a proper, bona fide apology to the court, then the aforementioned penalty can be remitted or the accused can be discharged from imprisonment. The detention for contempt of court in civil cases is carried out in a civil prison.

If the accused party is not an individual person but a company or a corporate entity, then the company along with all the people who were in charge of and responsible for the conduct of a business of the company shall be held liable for contempt of court. However, if such a person in charge or person responsible for the conduct of a business of the company successfully proves that the contempt was committed without his knowledge or that he had performed all the due diligence in order to prevent the commission of contempt of court, such a person shall not be held liable.

The High Court and the Supreme Court too have special provisions to deal with contempt of court under section 14 of the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971. As per this provision, if either the High Court or the Supreme Court is of the opinion that someone has acted in contempt of its court proceedings, then the court can on the same day, before the rising of the court, and if not on the same day then as soon as it can, inform such person in contempt, in writing that he or she is going to be charged with contempt of court. In such a case, the court shall also allow such a person in contempt with an opportunity to defend him or herself. After the court has taken in evidence and after hearing the defence of the person in contempt, shall come to the decision whether contempt has actually been committed or not. The person who has been charged with contempt of court can apply before the relevant court to transfer the hearing of the contempt case before another judge. The court will consider this application and if it believes that transferring the case would be in line with the proper administration of justice and also a practical step, then it shall place the matter before the Chief Justice of India, along with the statement of facts of the case. The Chief Justice will then consider and pass the relevant direction as it thinks fit. If the case is transferred and tried before a judge or judges in whose court the contempt did not occur, then the judge or judges in whose court the contempt was actually committed need not appear as witnesses to the case and the statement of facts that was put before the Chief Justice of India will be treated as evidence for this case.

While the contempt of court case is pending in the court, the person who has been charged with contempt can be directed to be put under custody if it is deemed necessary. The option of release on bail is available for contempt of court, however, the court can also release the accused upon execution of a bond without sureties.

Procedure of Criminal Contempt of Court

Apart from the powers entrusted upon the High Court and the Supreme Court to try contempt of court cases in section 14, the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971 also has specific provision for trying contempt of court cases of criminal nature under section 15 of the same Act. Action against criminal contempt of court of a High Court or the Supreme Court can be taken by any of the following bodies:

•    The High Court or the Supreme Court itself;

•    The Advocate- General;

•    Any person who has received consent from the Advocate- General to take such action;

•    In a case when the High Court of the Union Territory of Delhi, any Law Officer that the Central Government has specified by way of a notification in the Official Gazette, or any person who has been so authorised by way of a written consent from such a Law Officer.

If the act of criminal contempt of court has been committed in a court lower than the High Court, then the High Court can take action if such subordinate court makes a reference before it through a motion initiated by the Advocate- General. And if such a subordinate court is located in a Union Territory of India, then a Law Officer who has been notified by the Central Government by way of a notification in the Official Gazette can refer such a matter.

All such motions or references of criminal contempt of court have to necessarily specify what act of contempt the accused is being charged off. Moreover, it is worth noting that an ‘Advocate- General’ in case of the Supreme Court means either the Solicitor- General or the Attorney- General. And in case of the High Court, an ‘Advocate- General’ is the Advocate- General is the Advocate- General of the state in which the High Court is situated.

The notice of criminal contempt of court (as provided for in section 15) has to be delivered in writing and in person to the accused charged with the offence. If the notice is not delivered as such, the court has to record its reasons for the same. If the contempt of court proceedings are initiated upon a motion by the authority mentioned above, then this notice is served to the accused along with a copy of the motion and, if there be any, copies of the affidavits on which the motion is based. If the contempt of court case is based on a reference to the higher court by a subordinate court, then the copy of the reference is also served to the accused along with the notice. Furthermore, if the court is of the opinion that the accused may abscond or fail to present him or her before the court for proceedings, it can make orders to attach the property of the accused of the value as the court may deem necessary. Attachment of the property of the accused is carried out as per the procedure laid down in the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, specific to the procedure for attachment of property when the decree is money decree. If the accused person whose property has been attached show is successfully able to convince the court that he or she did not abscond and or did not take any action that would amount to him or her being prevented from serving the contempt notice, the court can issue another order to release the attached property.

A person who has been charged under section 15 for contempt of court has the right to file an affidavit in order to defend them. The court will then decide upon the matter either on the basis of the affidavits filed and can also take in additional evidence. Furthermore, the bench that decides upon such criminal contempt cases should consist of two or more judges, except for when the deciding being is of the Court of the Judicial Commissioner.

Appeal

A person accused of contempt of court has the right to appeal the decision of the High Court. If the decision has been passed by a single judge bench, then the appeal will lie with a bench of two or more judges. If the decision has been passed by division bench or the Judicial Commissioner, then the appeal shall lie with the Supreme Court. If the appeal has to be filed with the High Court, then the period of limitation is of 30 days but if the appeal has to be filed before the Supreme Court then the limitation period is increased to 60 days.