Defective contempt petition dismissed as withdrawn, with liberty to file afresh.

The 48 petitioners instituted contempt proceedings against the Collector, Bilaspur, and the General Manager, NTPC Limited, Sipat, before the High Court of Chhattisgarh in CONT No. 1240 of 2026.

At the hearing, counsel for the petitioners submitted that the petition was defective and sought permission to withdraw it with liberty to file a fresh petition.

1. Whether the petitioners should be permitted to withdraw the defective contempt petition with liberty to file a fresh petition.

2. Whether the present contempt petition should consequently be dismissed as withdrawn.

The Court applied the procedural principle that a petitioner may be permitted to withdraw a defective proceeding with liberty to institute a fresh proceeding, subject to the Court’s discretion.

No specific statutory provision, precedent, or substantive legal rule was cited in the order.

The petitioners’ counsel expressly represented that the contempt petition was defective and requested withdrawal with liberty to pursue a fresh petition.

The Court accepted this procedural request and found it appropriate to terminate the existing proceeding while preserving the petitioners’ liberty to file a fresh one. The Court therefore did not examine the merits of the alleged contempt or adjudicate the underlying dispute.

The petitioners were granted liberty to file a fresh petition.