Om Prakash Jaiswal vs D.K. Mittal & Anr

The Supreme Court held that the proceedings under Section 12 of the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971 were barred by Section 20 of the Act due to the lack of initiation of contempt proceedings within the stipulated time frame. The Court clarified that merely issuing a show cause notice does not constitute the initiation of proceedings, and thus the High Court's decision to drop the proceedings was upheld. The appeal was dismissed, affirming the High Court's order.