Authority: Patna High Court (Hon’ble Mr. Justice Rajiv Roy)
Order Date: 09 July 2026
Case Overview
- Petitioner: Usha Sinha, daughter of late Lakshmi Singh, resident of Bajitpur, Nalanda district.
- Opposite parties: Chairman‑cum‑MD D.K. Shukla and senior officials of Bihar State Housing Board (Chief Engineer Heera Lal, Superintending Engineer Prabhunath Choudhary, Executive Engineer Sanjay Kumar, Estate Officer Mahendra Prasad Singh).
- The petition seeks contempt proceedings for the Board’s alleged failure to comply with the order dated 30 January 2025 (Civil Review No. 337 of 2016) which directed the Board to refund the entire amount paid by the petitioner together with statutory 8 % compound interest within two months.
- The Board had earlier indicated willingness to refund subject to conditions under Sections 4 and 5 of the Digha Acquired Land Settlement Act, 2010 and to provide the petitioner’s bank details.
Final Outcome
- The Court reiterates the 30 January 2025 direction and orders the Board to obtain the petitioner’s bank details, ID proof, and any other required documents within one week of this order.
- The full refund amount, together with 8 % compound interest, must be paid to the petitioner within four weeks from the date of this order (i.e., by early August 2026).
- If the Board fails to comply, the responsible official shall pay a cost of Rs 50,000, to be recovered from the official’s personal pocket.
- The contempt petition is disposed, but the petitioner is granted liberty to file a fresh contempt petition should the Board not meet the stipulated deadline.
Topics: Contempt, Refund Enforcement, State Housing Board