Shashwati Chowdhury
Published on: June 7, 2022 at 18:26 IST
The Karnataka High Court, disapproving of top government officials’ refusal to obey court orders, orally stated on Monday that the time has come to sentence an IAS officer to jail for contempt of court.
The statement was made by a Division Bench led by Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi in response to a Single Bench’s ruling last year to amend the regulations governing the merging of Group C and D posts in municipal bodies.
Rakesh Singh, the Additional Chief Secretary for Urban Development, and MS Archana, the Director of Municipal Administration, were both present in court during the hearing.
An employees’ association has filed a contempt petition, arguing that the July 19, 2021 decree was supposed to be implemented within two months.
The two officers’ counsel, Additional Advocate General Dhyan Chinnappa, told the court that a draft notification was published on June 3, 2022, and 15 days’ time was required to file objections as per the law. On the petitioner’s request, the Court adjourned the hearing for another six weeks.
During Monday’s hearing, the Court noted that officers were not following court orders. The Court observed that the order was partially followed because they had been summoned to court.
The HC stated that “it is time an IAS officer is sent to jail”, as it has openly stated of its displeasure with government officials who fail to uphold Court orders.
