Siddipet Collector invites wrath of HC, tenders apology

Siddipet District Collector P. Venkatrami Reddy tasted the anger of Telangana High Court on Tuesday when he failed to seem earlier than it in an enchantment filed by him towards punishment in a contempt of courtroom case.

With a division bench headed by Chief Justice Hima Kohli declining to remain the punishment following his absence within the digital proceedings, the IAS officer lastly appeared earlier than the bench in the direction of the tip of the session. The CJ declined to remain the only choose order regardless of repeated requests from Advocate General B.S. Prasad.

“Be careful,” CJ Hima Kohli instructed the officer when he turned up for the courtroom listening to by means of video convention. The CJ made it clear to Mr. Reddy that he was contemnor within the case and was supposed to seem earlier than the courtroom when the enchantment got here up for listening to.

Mr. Reddy together with two different officers Krishna Bhaskar (former Siddipet Collector and present Rajanna Sircilla Collector) and Jayachandra Reddy (Special Deputy Collector, Land Acquisition, Kaleshwaram challenge Unit-III) was held responsible of contempt of courtroom by a single choose. Some tenant farmers and agricultural labourers of Vemulaghat village of Thoguta mandal of Siddipet filed two contempt of courtroom pleas alleging that the three officers wilfully disobeyed the only choose orders in two writ petitions pertaining to their dispossession of their lands for development of Mallannasagar reservoir. The petitioners contended that copies of the Detailed Project Report (DPR) in Telugu weren’t offered to them.

They additionally charged that their objections weren’t considered by the authorities. Holding the officers responsible of contempt of courtroom, the only choose awarded two-month easy imprisonment to Mr. Jayachandra Reddy and imposed ₹2,000 tremendous on him. The different two officers had been imposed with a tremendous of ₹2,000 every. The choose ordered that an hostile entry must be entered within the service data of the officers.

The three officers filed appeals towards the only choose order which got here up for listening to earlier than a division bench of CJ and Justice B. Vijaysen Reddy on Tuesday. When the listening to started, Mr. Jayachandra Reddy and Mr. Krishna Bhaskar attended by means of video convention. When CJ identified the absence of Mr. Venkatrami Reddy, the AG defined that he was occupied with an official programme.

With the CJ taking a critical be aware of the officer’s absence and declining to remain the punishment, the AG stated the officer had respect for the HC. “We can take care of our respect,” the CJ noticed making it clear that the courtroom wouldn’t keep the only choose order.

At that juncture, the AG requested the bench to cross over the matter assuring to safe presence of the officer who joined the proceedings ultimately and tendered an apology for his absence.. After listening to contentions of AG and respondents’ counsel, the bench posted the issues to April 12 for subsequent listening to.