The Andhra Pradesh high court on Thursday came down heavily on the Machilipatnam municipal commissioner for failing to comply with its earlier directions regarding the issuance of an occupancy certificate (OC) to the YSR Congress party office building.
Making sharp observations, the high court bench headed by Justice N Harinath remarked that court orders were being treated “as a joke” by officials and warned that it would not hesitate to demonstrate the extent of judicial authority.
“If one officer is sent behind bars, the rest will fall in line. Officials are behaving as if they are above the law. We know where to place them,” the high court bench observed.
He cautioned that the Commissioner’s actions could amount to contempt of court and directed him to file a detailed affidavit explaining his conduct. The matter was adjourned to February 9 for further hearing.
The case is related to a petition filed by Krishna district YSRCP president and former minister Perni Nani, who challenged the orders issued by the Machilipatnam municipal commissioner on the issue of granting the occupancy certificate.
The petitioner contended that the commissioner had acted contrary to the directions earlier issued by a Bench headed by the Chief Justice, which had instructed the authorities to examine the documents submitted and take a decision on issuing the certificate.
During the hearing, counsel for the petitioner, Y Nagireddy, argued that officials were acting with clear political vendetta against the party office.
Despite repeated directions from the courts, authorities continued to issue notices seeking explanations and ultimately passed orders rejecting the OC.
Notices were also issued directing stoppage of construction work, he submitted.
Reacting sharply, Justice Harinath questioned whether the Commissioner was incapable of understanding English or the contents of court orders.
“Did you not understand the directions of the Court?” the Judge asked, expressing anger over what he described as blatant disregard for judicial authority.
The high court ultimately set aside the orders issued by the municipal commissioner, reiterating that non-compliance with judicial directives would not be tolerated.
