High Court notice to IAS officer for not obeying its order

Lucknow: Holding that an IAS officer has no authority to interpret or comment upon an order of high court, a division bench of Justice A P Sahi and Justice Raghvendra Kumar issued show-cause notice to an officer seeking clarification for issuing administrative direction to keep its order 'in cold storage'.
The court said the officer appears to have stepped out of his authority and has proceeded to comment upon the HC in a manner which is not only inappropriate but contemptuous.It directed the officer to furnish reply till July 4 or it would initiate contempt of court proceedings against him.
The matter relates to suspension of licence of a fair price shop in Gonda. The licence of the fair price shop of petitioner Sanjiv Verma was suspended. He filed statutory appeal against the suspension order. Commissioner, Devi Patan division, admitted the appeal, but declined to stay the suspension order on April 4. The petitioner then moved the HC. The HC on May 18 directed the commissioner to decide the appeal within two months. It further provided that the commissioner's April 4 order should be kept in abeyance till then. The petitioner served the copy of order on the commissioner and SDM, Sadar, Gonda, Avinash Kumar. The SDM on June 17 issued a written direction to keep the HC order 'in sleeping state'.
The petitioner again approached the HC on Wednesday. When the June 17 directive of the SDM came up before the bench, it expressed serious concern on the officer's functioning. The bench said, "SDM Avinash Kumar, who has passed the impugned order, appears to be an IAS officer. The function and obligation discharged by him is of administrative nature. The authority is subordinate to the HC and is not authorized to interpret or comment upon the HC order. He has only to obey the order of HC."
"Consequently, while doing so the SDM appears to have stepped out of his authority and has proceeded to comment upon the HC in a manner which is not only inappropriate, but contemptuous. A judicial order is not meant to be interpreted in the aforesaid manner as has been done in the present case," added the bench .
The bench held, "This, therefore, in our opinion, prima facie calls for an action against the concerned SDM by passing strictures on him keeping in view the fact that he has failed to discharge his official duty in the manner it ought to have been done for obeying orders of a superior judiciary."
Moreover, language used by the officer is not only disrespectful, it also clearly indicates inadequate training of the Officer in drafting orders, said the bench .
The bench directed the commissioner of Devi Patan division and district magistrate, Gonda to take appropriate action.