₹5 lakh fine imposed on UP Government by Supreme court.
The Supreme Court has recently levied a fine of ₹5 lakh against the Uttar Pradesh government for failing to comply with court orders in the case of Ashok vs. State of Uttar Pradesh and Anr. Justices Abhay S. Oka and Augustine George Masih decided to terminate contempt proceedings against a Prisons Department official but expressed strong dissatisfaction with the state’s management of the issue.
Case Overview
The contempt proceedings stemmed from delays in handling a convict’s premature release application, which was eventually approved after the Court’s intervention. In the order issued on September 27, the Bench stated, “We do not find it fitting to waste time on such matters. Justice has been served to the petitioner… Therefore, we have chosen to show leniency and close all proceedings, including the contempt notice.”
Court’s Criticism of State Actions
Despite concluding the proceedings, the Court did not hesitate to criticize the state’s behavior: “We condemn the actions of the State and its officials for ignoring the Court’s orders. They have displayed utter disregard and disrespect.” The imposed fine is to be paid to the Uttar Pradesh State Legal Services Authority within a month.
Issues with Delays and Misrepresentation
The Court had earlier ordered the temporary release of the convict due to considerable delays by state authorities in processing the remission request. Although a deadline was set by the Court on May 13, the responsible official initially attributed the delays to a slow response from the State Secretariat and the Model Code of Conduct. However, a subsequent affidavit indicated that these explanations were inaccurate.
During hearings on August 20 and 28, the Court expressed serious concern over these inconsistencies and issued a notice regarding possible contempt proceedings against the official for providing false information.
Summary
The Court characterized the situation as “very unfortunate,” highlighting that there was clear non-compliance with its orders. It pointed out that the necessary paperwork was not processed according to its directives, especially during the period of the Model Code of Conduct, emphasizing the importance of accountability in the enforcement of judicial orders.
Disclaimer: (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the KanoonKiBaat staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Source Link
