SEBASTIAN M. HONGRAY vs UNION OF INDIA & ORS.

The Supreme Court held that the issuance of a writ of Habeas Corpus imposes a legal obligation on the respondents to produce the detained individuals before the Court. The Court found that the respondents' failure to comply constituted civil contempt under Section 2(b) of the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971, as it involved willful disobedience to the writ. The Court ordered the respondents to pay exemplary costs of Rs. 1 lakh each to the wives of the missing persons due to the mental anguish caused by their unlawful detention.