Two IAS officers get one month's jail in AP, fine of Rs 1000 for disobeying HC orders

VIJAYAWADA: The Andhra Pradesh High Court on Tuesday sentenced two IAS officials to one month’s imprisonment and a fine of Rs 1,000 each for not implementing court orders on the filling of certain vacancies in the horticulture department.

Dealing with a contempt petition, Justice B. Devanand observed that the two officials — panchayat raj commissioner Girija Shankar and horticulture commissioner Chiranjeevi Chowdary — willfully disobeyed the court directions and deserved punishment.

The judge called the two officials for their personal appearance on Tuesday. However, he withdrew his order after government special counsel Suman gave a commitment to the court that its orders would be implemented in the next two weeks.

The horticulture department had in January, 2020, issued a notification to fill village horticulture assistant posts. It later issued an amendment deleting several eligibility parameters. Some 35 candidates challenged this in court.

The High Court scrapped the amended notification and gave an interim direction to the government to consider the candidatures of the 35 petitioners too.

Even after exhausting all the legal remedies and courts giving a clear direction to consider the pleas of the 35, the officials ignored the orders. This forced the candidates to file a contempt case.