Contempt of court cases piling over 17,400 in Telangana

Hyderabad: Telangana recorded a whopping number of contempt of court cases with over 17,460 cases since 2013. Senior government official Somesh Kumar topped the list with 192 cases followed by Rajeshwar Tiwari with 112 cases. As many as 2,000 contempt of court cases were filed in 2019 alone. Political tangle is a prime reason in the majority of court cases.

The delay in taking final decisions coupled with negligence of senior officials is the prime reason in majority cases, observes a political analyst.

Somesh Kumar, Special Principal Secretary at Revenue Department, is facing 192 contempt of court cases since 2013. Rajeshwar Tiwari, Special Principal Secretary of Forest Department, is facing 112 cases. Health and Medical Department Special Principal Secretary Shanti Kumar and Roads and Buildings Department Chief Secretary Sunil Sharma are among other officials who are facing a large number of cases.

Once a contempt of court case is filed against any official, it will remain in his name until a final verdict is delivered. The official has to face legal battle even after his retirement. Regardless of transfers and promotions, the official should face the court case until his death or final judgment. Several senior officials have been facing court cases even after their retirement. They are suffering a lot in the process. Besides, after their departure, they don’t get proper information on their court cases from their concerned departments on many occasions.

“Who cares about officials after their retirement? Nobody updates us on the court case or some other development. This is causing more inconvenience to us and further delaying the legal procedure,” said a retired official.

The former officer added that the liaison system in the state government is not functioning. “Generally, liaison officials are there in every department. Their responsibility is to update us about the ongoing court cases. However, they failed in delivering their duty. Moreover, there’s no coordination between the liaison system and CMO. Review meetings on contempt of court cases at the Chief Minister level should be convened. Then only we can get an amicable solution. Otherwise, we have to face court cases until our death,” noted the retiree.