The Madras High Court has Punished a senior IAS officer, Anshul Mishra to one month simple imprisonment for civil contempt of court.
Justice P. Velmurugan issued the order ruling that Mishra had willfully committed a breach of a court order in relation to a land reconveyance petition.
Case Background
The contempt plea was filed by R. Lalithambai and her brother K.S. Viswanathan for the return of 6.5 cents of land in Koyambedu in Chennai which was acquired by the Tamil Nadu Housing Board in 1983. The never-activated public use would have left the land vacant for decades.
In November 2023, the High Court had ordered the CMDA to consider the petitioners’ request and conduct an enquiry within the span of two months. The CMDA, however, dragged the probe till February 2025 – long after the deadline was over.
IAS Officer Held in Contempt
Anshul Mishra was Member Secretary of the CMDA when the delay occurred. In court, he said the delay was the result of administrative changes and his own assigning away of the duties. However, the High Court was not satisfied with the explanation stating that it was a “culpable and conscious defiance of the judicial orders”.
Justice Velmurugan said can’t ignore court orders, that may lead to dangerous signal to the public and the very purpose of the rule of law would be defeated. The court stressed that public officers have a responsibility not a discretion and are not able to rely on bureaucratic difficulties to avoid compliance with statutory duties.
Court Orders and Penalty
In addition to the jail term, the court ordered Mishra to pay ₹25,000 as compensation to the petitioners, which would be deducted from his personal salary. The court ordered the State Government to immediately pay the affected persons.
However, the court suspended the sentence temporarily, allowing Mishra to file an appeal if he chooses to do so within the legally permissible period. If no appeal is filed, the High Court registry has been instructed to initiate the process of executing the jail sentence.
Case Details
Case Title: Mrs.R.Lalithambai v/s Thiru.Anshul Mishra, IAS.
Citation: Cont.P.No.2790 of 2024
