Babus defy HC orders: Judge says 'time to send an IAS officer to jail'

Expressing displeasure that government officials were not following the orders of the High Court, a division bench of the Karnataka HC on Monday (June 6) made an observation that “its time an IAS officer is sent to jail”.

A single-judge bench ordered the state on July 19, 2021, to issue a notification within two months of a draft amendment rules regarding merging Group-C with Group-B jobs in the various municipalities of the state.

An employees association of the Karnataka city municipality workers had filed a contempt petition as the single-judge order was not followed.

The matter came up for hearing on May 31, 2022, but the state government had failed to issue the notification.

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The HC had posted the hearing to June 6 and directed Additional Chief Secretary Rakesh Singh of the Urban Development Department and M S Archana, director of Municipal Administration, to be present.

On Monday, both the officers were present before the division bench of the court headed by Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi.

Additional Advocate General Dhyan Chinnappa informed the court that the draft rules have been framed and notified on June 3. Objections can be filed within 15 days. An affidavit stating this was submitted to the court.

The court recorded the submission and adjourned the case by six weeks. The court also directed that the officers should be present in court on the next date of hearing too.
During the hearing on Monday, the court observed that officers were not taking court orders seriously. It was because they were summoned to court that the court order was followed to an extent.

The HC said: “it is time an IAS officer is sent to jail”, as it made no secret of its displeasure about the behaviour of government officers not following court orders.

(With inputs from agencies)