Chennai: Coming down heavily on the authorities for not implementing the orders of the courts, Madras high court has summoned five government officials to appear before the court on April 13 in connection with implementation of its earlier order relating to appointment of six persons as teachers.
Justice N. Kirubakaran directed the Higher Education secretary, Director of School education, the Member Secretary, Teacher Recruitment Board, the Vice Chairman, Equivalence Committee, Tamil Nadu State Higher Education Council and Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission secretary to appear in person before the court on April 13, if the order is not implemented by issuing appointment orders to the petitioners.
“Government officials invariably sleep over court orders like Rip Van Winkle and neglect to comply with them. This case would demonstrate as to how the court orders are given scant respect and they remain as paper orders. Though this court is the highest court of the state, the officials are very slow in implementing the orders passed by this court. If that is so, what would happen to the orders passed by subordinate courts. They neither implement the orders nor challenge orders before the Appellate court in time. Lethargic attitude of officials only make poor litigants to again approach this court by way of contempt petitions for implementing the court orders, as this court is the executing court,” the judge said listing out the number of contempt petitions filed from the year 2000.
Originally, on the petitions filed by S. Venkatachallam and five others, the judge had on November 30, 2017 directed the authorities to appoint the petitioners as they were having valid degrees. However, the petitioners were not given appointments.
Hence, the matter was mentioned before the court and was called for hearing many times. The judge said on March 22, 2018, it was represented that the government has taken a decision to make appointment of the petitioners.
Therefore, based on the representation made on behalf of the government, the matter was adjourned so as to enable them to issue appointment orders. When the matter was called on April 5, 2018, Additional advocate general Narmada Sampath submitted that a decision with regard to the implementation of the order would be taken at the earliest.
However, this court recorded the submission made on behalf of the government on March 22 and observed that it was open to the government to file an appeal before the appropriate forum and unless the order was set aside or stayed, the order has to be necessarily implemented and there was no question of taking a decision on implementation of order, which was in force, the judge added.
