JK High Court Gives Ganderbal Deputy Commissioner 2 Days to Apologize in Contempt Case

JK High Court Gives Ganderbal Deputy Commissioner 2 Days to Apologize in Contempt CasePhoto: KL

Ashiq Butt | August 12, 2024 | 06:37 PM IST | Courts & Law, Ganderbal, Jammu Kashmir | Follow on Google News

JK High Court Gives Ganderbal Deputy Commissioner 2 Days to Apologize in Contempt Case

JK High Court Gives Ganderbal Deputy Commissioner 2 Days to Apologize in Contempt Case

Key Highlights:

• Ganderbal DC Shyambir Singh has two days to decide on filing an apology affidavit.
• Singh is facing criminal contempt charges for allegedly intimidating a sub-judge.
• The case will be heard on August 14 by the Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh High Court.

The High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh has granted Ganderbal deputy commissioner Shyambir Singh two days to decide whether he will submit an affidavit of apology in a criminal contempt case.

A division bench comprising Justice Atul Sreedharan and Justice Sanjeev Kumar provided Singh this time to contemplate his course of action. The case is scheduled for further hearing on August 14.

During the court proceedings, Singh verbally expressed that his actions were not intended to undermine the dignity of the court.

He requested time to consider whether he should file a formal apology affidavit and personally appear before the lower court.

The case stems from an incident where allegations were made that Singh, a 2018-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer who has been serving as the deputy commissioner of Ganderbal since 2022, retaliated against sub-judge Fayaz Ahmad Qureshi.

The accusations suggest that Singh abused his official position to intimidate and harass the judge.

The conflict began after Qureshi ordered the attachment of Singh’s salary due to non-compliance with a court judgment issued in October 2022.

In response, Singh allegedly engaged in actions perceived as attempts to undermine judicial authority, including unauthorized visits to the sub-judge’s property by government officials.

Last month, in addition to ordering criminal contempt proceedings against Singh, Qureshi recommended that the Jammu and Kashmir chief secretary consider taking administrative action against Singh under the Government Conduct Rules, 1971.

Qureshi characterized Singh as a “constant potential threat” to the judiciary, citing the deputy commissioner’s misuse of power.

Ashiq Butt

Ashiq Butt – is VoM News's senior staffer worked since year 2015 and he deals with correspondency and social media handles. Hailing from Doda's Marmat, Ashiq has strong grip over the collection of the data and it's compiling feature.