Supreme Court asks IAS officer and IPS officer to explore settlement instead of trading barbs

The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked IAS officer Rohini Sindhuri and IPS officer D Roopa Moudgil to explore a settlement instead of continuing to make allegations against each other [D Roopa vs Rohini Sindhuri]..A Bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Pankaj Mithal remarked that the two officers are public functionaries and such conduct should not continue."Both of them are young officers, their career will be affected if this fight goes on," the Court said.If both the parties agree to withdraw the allegations, then everything including any pending litigations between them would also go, the Bench said..The bench was hearing Moudgil's appeal against a Karnataka High Court order refusing to quash a criminal defamation case initiated against her by Sindhuri.The top court had on December 15 ordered an interim stay in the matter and directed the officers to not speak to the media. It had also suggested mediation to resolve the dispute between them..The Court today said that if departmental action has been taken against any of them in connection with their fight, it can even ask the State to not proceed further against them."To help the situation, if both of you agree, we can record in the order that since allegations are withdraw, the State should not precipitate the matter by starting something on the basis of allegations made (by them) against each other," Justice Oka said..Though Senior Advocate Siddharth Luthra, representing Sindhuri, said she was not ready to settle, he sought more time to speak to her about a possible solution.The Court then listed the matter for next week.Senior Advocate Aditya Sondhi appeared for D Roopa..On February 18 last year, Sindhuri discovered that Moudgil had made several allegations against her in Facebook posts. In these posts, Moudgil allegedly accused Sindhuri of sharing her private pictures with fellow IAS officers.This led to a public spat between the two, prompting the State government to transfer both officers.On February 21, Sindhuri issued a legal notice to Moudgil and demanded an unconditional apology and ₹1 crore in damages for the loss of her reputation and mental agony.On March 24, a Bengaluru court, which was hearing the private suit filed by Sindhuri, ordered initiation of a criminal defamation case against Roopa.Moudgil then moved the High Court to have the same quashed. On August 21, the Karnataka High Court rejected her plea.High Court judge Justice Sachin Shankar Magadum observed that Moudgil's statements on social media account and print media warranted a criminal trial. Moudgil then approached the apex court..On December 13 last year, the Supreme Court had recommended mediation in the matter in view of the high ranks of the parties involved. Public spats between such officials would demean the administration and its image, the top court had remarked.Justice Oka had advised the two officers to avoid 'mud-slinging.'A day later, on December 14, the top court had suggested that the IPS officer give an undertaking that she would remove all social media posts against Sindhuri and apologise so that the issue could be settled.The bench had commented that if the officers continued to fight and refuse meditation, the State administration would come to a standstill.On December 15, the bench had gone through the undertaking given by Moudgil on affidavit and proceeded to stay the defamation proceedings as an interim measure.

Supreme Court asks IAS officer and IPS officer to explore settlement instead of trading barbs

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