High Court bench led by Justice Atul Sridharan and Justice Sanjeev Kumar has directed Deputy Commissioner Shyambir Singh, an IAS officer from the 2018 batch of Madhya Pradesh, to appear personally before the bench on August 5 in a criminal contempt case.
A notice was issued to him last month in a suo motu case, which was a contempt petition. The lower court in Ganderbal district ruled that it had given sufficient opportunity to him, stating that he did not appear and had not furnished a reply. This was noted by the subject of the lower court in Ganderbal district.
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Therefore, the court proceeded in accordance with the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971. As per Clause (a) of Section 15 of the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971, the High Court has the power to take action on a reference made to it by a subordinate court in any criminal contempt case.
If there was normal disobedience by a public servant, it could be dealt with under different laws. However, in this case, the grave contempt and punishment could disqualify him from holding public office, according to a former law officer of Jammu and Kashmir who did not want to be named.
According to court documents, the officer started illegal proceedings to demarcate Judge Qureshi’s land after an order had been issued to stop his salary due to non-compliance with the court order issued nearly 18 months ago. Singh allegedly directed a committee headed by Assistant Commissioner Revenue M. Altaf Bhat of the Kashmir Administrative Services to demarcate the land owned by the judge.
On July 23, the court directed him to submit the record of the file, which is probably valuable evidence, according to sources. When the matter was heard on July 29, the counsel sought time to file a reply. However, when the issue came up for hearing on Thursday, the state informed the court that they could not submit the file because Singh was sent on a government training program from July 29 to August 2 in the capital, Srinagar, and his charge was not given to any officer.
However, the court observed that it is not possible to leave any office, particularly the office of the Assistant Commissioner Revenue, without giving the charge to any officer. No person was designated to do the work in his absence.
The excuse made by the revenue commissioner was vague, as he claimed he was not able to provide the file, which is necessary evidence, according to sources. This gave the court sufficient cause to issue a show-cause notice to him on July 29.
The court also extended the time for the additional delivery of the copy of the show-cause notice to the Deputy Commissioner, but he did not appear before the court and did not submit or furnish his reply, according to the court order.
On July 23, the court recommended criminal contempt proceedings and the transfer of Singh, accusing him of abusing his official position to harass a judge. The court also requested that the Chief Secretary of Jammu and Kashmir take administrative action under the Government Conduct Rules, 1971, against Singh, describing him as a constant potential threat to the judiciary.
