Tamil Nadu cadre IAS officer Anshul Mishra has been held in contempt by Madras High Court and directed to undergo simple imprisonment for a month. The officer, who is the current Member Secretary of the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA), was held in contempt for non-compliance of a direction to return to its original owners a plot of land that had been acquired by the Tamil Nadu Housing Board (TNHB) in 1983.
The petitioners, siblings R Lalithambai and KS Viswanathan, filed a petition for recovery of their 17 cents of land, which had been acquired in 1983 by the TNHB at a nominal rate of Rs 1 per cent.
The petitioners had earlier submitted a writ petition with the Madras HC, which the court disposed of on November 22, 2023, after ordering the CMDA to pass an appropriate order within two months to remedy the plea. The CMDA failed to do so, causing the petitioners to file another plea in August 2024, following which the CMDA rejected the claims of the petitioners in an order issued on February 2 this year.
Issuing the order on April 28 this year, the single bench of Justice P Velmurugan said that the officer had “wantonly and wilfully” disobeyed the court's direction. The court noted that such conduct by officers was not an isolated incident.
“In numerous cases, it is seen that poor and aggrieved litigants, after approaching public authorities for redressal of genuine grievances, are forced to approach the constitutional courts for directions. Even after judicial intervention, the concerned authorities, for reasons best known to them, either delay or altogether ignore compliance, compelling the litigants to resort to contempt proceedings for enforcement of their rights,” Justice Velmurugan stated.
The court observed that such conduct was against the fundamental principles of justice. “The confidence of the citizens in the justice delivery system rests upon the assurance that the orders of the courts will be implemented promptly and effectively. Public service is not a privilege but a trust reposed in the officials by the people. Public servants are answerable not only to their immediate administrative superiors but ultimately to the law and the Constitution,” the court said.
The court ordered a month’s simple imprisonment and a fine of Rs 25,000. It has given time till the filing of an appeal for the enforcement of the order.