Andhra Pradesh High Court sentences IAS officer to two weeks in prison for disobeying Full Bench order

The Andhra Pradesh High Court on Monday sentenced IAS officer and former collector of Visakhapatnam Praveen Kumar to two weeks in prison, along with a fine of ₹2,000 for willful disobedience of court orders. [I Srinivasa Rao and Ors v. Praveen Kumar] .Justice R Raghunandan Rao noted that the Court had directed the officer to pass an order in terms of the judgment of the Court's Full Bench verdict in Vinjamuri Rajagopalachary v. Revenue Department.As per this judgment, the officer was required to send a notice to the petitioners and give them an opportunity to make out their case before passing the order.The Court observed that no opportunity was given to the petitioners and hence, the order by the IAS officer passed was in clear violation of the directions of the Court..The case pertains to a dispute over a seven-acre piece of land which was included in a prohibitory list maintained by the Joint Registrar. The owners of the land approached the High Court, which directed them to file a petition before the collector for removal from the list. Meanwhile, the current petitioners before the High Court bought the land from the original owners.While the application remained pending before the collector, the petitioners filed a contempt petition pointing out difficulties in registering their deeds. After the High Court ordered the release of documents, their mutation application was refused. They then approached the district collector and tahsildar for removal from the list, but no action was taken. Subsequently, they moved the High Court again, which directed the collector to proceed in accordance with the Full Bench judgment..Due to non-disposal of the application by the collector, the petitioners sent him a contempt notice. As no action was allegedly taken after the notice, they moved the High Court with the contempt case.During the pendency of the proceedings, the collector passed an order rejecting the claim of the petitioners. Subsequently, he passed another order elucidating the reasons for his decision..The petitioners alleged that the first order was passed without giving them an opportunity to be heard or to place relevant material on record. This, they said, was in direct violation of the the directions in the Full Bench judgment. They contended that both orders were passed on the ground that the commissioners' orders were incorrect and could not be acted upon. They also underlined that the collector, on the pretext of a pending writ petition, had rejected their applications..The collector affirmed that there was no intention on his part to disobey the orders of this Court and that his order was passed in the peculiar circumstances of the case..The Court observed that the collector had completely ignored the proceedings of the joint collector which were affirmed by the Director of Settlements and subsequently by the Commissioner of Appeals, while dismissing the application.Further, it observed that the collector's conduct in issuing the second proceeding clearly showed that he was only attempting to add substance to his order after realizing his mistake..Finally, it was noted that the collector's unconditional apology appeared to be an apology for the delay in passing the order of rejection rather than any breach of the Court's directives.Accordingly, the Court held that the collector's conduct was impermissible and any lenience would be counterproductive to the rule of law. Hence, it sentenced him to two weeks in prison, along with a fine of ₹2,000..Senior Advocate KS Murthy and Advocate GVVSR Subrahmanyam appeared for the petitioners. Advocate GL Narasimha Reddy appeared for the respondents..[Read Judgment]