The court considered whether or not to grant the stay of execution. The court held that an application for stay of execution had to first satisfy court that the decree appealed from was capable of being stayed and there was an inherent danger of execution. The court was not satisfied that the orders of the High court which the application sought to stay were capable of being stayed. The court accordingly declined to grant the application.

The court further considered whether the commission’s directive staying the consent decree was lawful. The court further held that judgements of courts could not be stayed, reviewed or otherwise compromised by orders issued by the executive. The court was satisfied that the commission’s directive was unconstitutional and allowing the application would revive it. The court accordingly concluded that the consent decree could only be set aside by court itself in an application to set it aside.