Bureaucrat summoned for contempt of court

Chennai:

Madras High Court has summoned Ashok Dongre, commissioner and director of Most Backward and de-notified communities welfare and joint director of Kallar Reclamation N Latha in a contempt of court case.

The order was passed by Justice N Kirubakaran after hearing a contempt petition by K Thirupathi.

Thirupathi was among the 119 graduate teachers and 27 post graduate teachers who were to be relieved by joint director of Kallar Reclamation as per Government Order 86 dated March 2, 2011, and transferred to government schools under the control of Rameshwara Murugan, director of school education, in the same academic year.

Interestingly, the government Order was never implemented and the officials lied to court on several occasions that they were going to implement it. It was only after a contempt of court petition was filed that the director of school education posted Thirupathi to government higher secondary school in Pudatikottai in Krishnagiri district.

However, Dongre issued an order on May 23, 2014, directing headmaster of Government Kallar Higher secondary school in Dindigul district not to relieve him till reliever is posted.

Justice N Kirubakaran in his order said that prima facie, it appears that the respondents wanted to give a false picture that the order of this Court was complied with and thereafter, an attempt has been made to frustrate the order passed by the court by issuance of another order not to relieve the petitioner.

“Adopting such indirect methods so as not to comply with the order of this court is prima facie nothing but interfering with the administration of justice,” the judge observed.

More over the officials are interested only in sticking to their original stand and not to give any respect to the courts order.

The respondents herein have invented a new method so that it would appear as if the Courts order has been complied with but at the same time the party is deprived of the benefit.

“This kind of attitude has to be prevented and deprecated. Otherwise justice delivery system and the litigants approaching this court may lose their faith in the system,” the judge said.