Srinagar (Jammu and Kashmir): The High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh has imposed a fine of Rs 100 on a Srinagar woman for contempt of court after she failed to comply with an undertaking to return her children to Qatar. The court found that the respondent had willfully violated the undertaking, obstructing the course of justice.
The contempt case emerged from Letters Patent Appeal (LPA) No. 216/2022, which was resolved based on the respondent's undertaking on December 1, 2022. The undertaking required her to return to Qatar with her minor children before January 2, 2023 — the reopening date of her elder son's school — and to secure a residency permit for her younger son.
However, the woman travelled to Qatar in December 2022 without her children and later returned to India, claiming harassment and legal issues initiated by her former husband in Qatar, which allegedly led to her Qatar ID being blocked. Despite these claims, the court determined that she did not fulfil her obligations or inform the court of difficulties that could have warranted a modification or discharge of the undertaking.
In its ruling on August 6, the bench, comprising Justice Sanjay Dhar and Justice MA Chowdhary, stated, "The respondent's failure to return to Qatar with her children, as promised, is a clear violation of the undertaking she provided to this court. Such conduct amounts to willful disobedience of the court's order and is a serious obstruction of justice."