SC shuts contempt against Maha addl CS in land case
Kumar earned the ire of the court while it was hearing a case involving the plea of a man whose land was taken away by the state despite having a valid decree of ownership going back to 1985
The Supreme Court on Monday closed contempt proceedings against Maharashtra additional chief secretary Rajesh Kumar on finding that his affidavit accusing the top court of not following the provisions of law in a Pune land case was vetted by several lawyers, and he could not be held “singly guilty” for it.
On August 28, Kumar earned the ire of the court while it was hearing a case involving the plea of a man whose land was taken away by the state despite having a valid decree of ownership going back to 1985.
The affidavit by Kumar said: “The applicant as well as the court may not approve the fresh calculation (of ₹48.65 crore payable to a private citizen whose land was encroached by state) made by the Collector, Pune but it is the bounden duty of the state to follow the provisions of law and to arrive at a proper calculation.”
The top court took exception to this submission, and its order issuing show cause notice for contempt, said: “The inference that could be drawn is that this court and the applicant (landowner) does not follow the provisions of law. He is an additional chief secretary. What sort of an officer is he? The calculation, to say the least, is based on whimsical calculation.”
The top court at the time directed Kumar, the additional chief secretary (revenue and forest) in Maharashtra, to remain personally present for the next hearing.
Advocate Nishant Katneshwarkar, appearing with the bureaucrat on Monday, tendered an unconditional apology stating that it was never his intention to cause any inconvenience to the court or commit contempt of court. Katneshwarkar said that the offending passage got added inadvertently, and since various people, including him, were involved in finalising the affidavit, the officer alone could not be blamed.
The bench of justices BR Gavai and KV Viswanathan said, “We find that the noticee cannot be held singly guilty. We accept the unconditional apology and discharge the contempt against him.” The bench even remarked, “We did not know that even you (Katneshwarkar) were part of the mess. Had you been a little careful, the officer was not required to be here.”
The bench was hearing a petition filed by Housabai Haribhau Bhairat, who claimed to be in possession of a land measuring over 24 acres in village Pashan in Pune as per a decree of the top court in 1985. Even prior to this decree, the state in 1963 illegally took away this land and allotted it to the Union government for setting up Armament Research Development Establishment Institute (ARDEI), a unit under the defence ministry.
In 2004, he was allotted alternative land at village Kondhwa Khurd, but it could not be developed as it fell in reserved forest land. These glaring facts led the court to direct the state to either offer the petitioner another plot or compensate his handsomely.
Kumar, in a fresh affidavit filed on September 6, pointed out that the petitioner was agreeable to an alternative land at Yevalewadi. The bench later directed that “the Collector, Pune shall personally ensure that 24 acres and 38 guntas be measured and demarcated and after demarcation, peaceful and vacant possession be handed to the petitioner”. A gunta is a traditional measure of land -- around 1100 sq ft.
In July, the court expressed its angst over the long wait for justice that the petitioner had to suffer, as two generations of the family had passed away, unable to reap the benefits of the court decree secured almost 40 years ago.