Hyderabad: The Telangana High Court has made it clear that court orders must be implemented with sincerity and not in a mechanical or forced manner. It was observed that even token or superficial compliance would amount to contempt of court.
In a significant ruling, the court sentenced Rajendranagar Land Reforms Tribunal Authorised Officer (RDO) Koppula Venkat Reddy to one month in jail and imposed a fine of Rs 2,000 for willful disobedience of its orders.
The court further directed that failure to pay the fine would result in an additional two weeks of imprisonment.
Case details
The case pertains to a land dispute involving 74.97 acres in Peddashapur village, Shamshabad mandal, Ranga Reddy district. In 2017, following directions from the Appellate Tribunal, the RDO conducted an inquiry but failed to deliver a judgment. Aggrieved by the delay, petitioner Nawab Mohammed Yusufuddin Khan approached the High Court.
The High Court had earlier directed the RDO to issue a decision within six weeks. However, as no action was taken, the petitioner filed a contempt petition. Only after the court issued a notice for personal appearance did the RDO hurriedly implement the orders.
Justice CV Bhaskar Reddy, while hearing the contempt case, ruled that such delayed and pressured compliance does not absolve the official from contempt. The court set aside the RDO’s orders and directed the District Collector to assign the case to another official for fresh consideration.
Two-week stay on the judgment’s implementation
The court also granted a two-week stay on the implementation of its judgment to allow time for filing an appeal.
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