The Andhra Pradesh high court’s punishment to eight IAS officers for their contempt of court in defying the orders on construction of village secretariat buildings in the school premise has led to a serious talk within the bureaucracy.
Though none of the IAS officers is willing to talk about in the open as it is against the service rules, sources said the judgement has certainly led to a debate within the IAS officers’ circles.
It is learnt that more than the contempt of court comment, the way the eight officers are forced to service at welfare hostels once a month for one year in the district prescribed by the court is being treated as nothing short of humiliation for the bureaucracy.
The court also directed the officers to bear one day's expenses of food at the hostels where they do the service. They should now serve food to the hostel students all through the day once in a month till one year.
Retired bureaucrats, however, are openly commenting on the high court judgement. Former chief secretary L V Subrahmanyam said it was shameful for all the Telugu people that the IAS officers were being punished for contempt of court.
“They have to implement the high court order. Otherwise, they can go for an appeal in the Supreme Court. But they cannot ignore the implementation of the high court orders. Punishment to as many as eight IAS officers is not a small issue. It is a blot on the entire bureaucracy,” Subrahmanyam said.
He warned that if the government do not follow the Constitutional procedures, they might have to face the dismissal by the courts.
Former joint director of Central Bureau of Investigation V V Lakshminarayana also said the executive has to obey the orders of the high court; otherwise they would have to face problems.
“If the legislature and executive do not follow the Constitutional norms, judiciary would definitely interfere,” he said.
He also warned that the state legislature cannot pass laws indiscriminately just because the people have given mandate to lawmakers. The courts would interfere if the laws are against the Constitution, he said.
