In connection with the case of contempt of court, the High Court has sentenced Praveen Prakash, the Principal Secretary of the School Education Department during the YCP regime, and Seshagiri Babu, the then Secretary of the Intermediate Board, to imprisonment and a fine. Incidentally, this was imposed a day after the government accepted Praveen Prakash’s request for voluntary retirement.
After issuing court orders, it is the responsibility of the authorities to implement them in the right spirit without distorting them. It has been reminded that if the court orders are against the rules, there is an option to appeal them. But orders cannot be distorted and not implemented.
In the present case, both Praveen Prakash, and Seshagiri Babu, who did not implement the court orders, were sentenced to one month simple imprisonment and a fine of Rs 2,000. However, the execution of the verdict was stayed for four weeks as the lawyers for the authorities requested time to file an appeal.
It has been made clear to the officials that if the appeal court does not grant any stay on the orders given by them, they should surrender before the High Court Registrar Judicial on 21st of this month. To this extent, High Court judge Justice Nimmagadda Venketeshwarlu gave a verdict in the contempt of court case.
M. Vijayalakshmi, working as Administrative Officer in Intermediate Board, retired on 31st August 2022. On January 31 of the same year, the Finance Department issued GO 15 increasing the retirement age from 60 to 62 years. Vijayalakshmi requested the Secretary of the Intermediate Board to continue her job till she reaches the age of 62 on the basis of this GO.
Due to lack of positive response, she filed a petition in the High Court in 2023. The judge who conducted the inquiry ordered that Vijayalakshmi should continue in the service till she reaches the age of 62 in February 2023. As these orders were not implemented, Vijayalakshmi filed a contempt of court petition.
Seshagiri Babu, the then principal secretary of the school education department and secretary of the intermediate board, were included as respondents. The judge who heard the petition strongly objected to the attitude of the then principal secretary of the school education department, Praveen Prakash. He objected to not filing a counter despite being given several opportunities. It is said that this is disrespecting the court orders.