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SC stays Calcutta HC order suspending Andaman chief secretary, ₹5L fine on L-G
A bench led by CJI DY Chandrachud stayed the impugned directives of the high court, passed on Thursday, after attorney general R Venkataramani mentioned the matter for an urgent intervention
The Supreme Court on Friday stayed a Calcutta high court order directing the suspension of Andaman and Nicobar, chief secretary, Keshav Chandra, and also asking the lieutenant governor (L-G), Admiral DK Joshi, to deposit a fine of ₹5 lakh in a case of contempt of court.
A bench led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud stayed the impugned directives of the high court, passed on Thursday, after attorney general R Venkataramani mentioned the matter for an urgent intervention.
“He must have done something really drastic to have made the high court pass such an order... though we think suspending the chief secretary and asking the L-G to pay a fine is a little too much. We will examine it in detail later,” observed the bench, also comprising justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra.
The next hearing of the case has been fixed for August 11.
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Riled up by non-compliance of its order on the grant of higher pay and DA to nearly 4,000 Daily Rated Mazdoors (DRMs) employed by the island administration, the high court had suspended the chief secretary.
The division bench of the circuit bench of the Calcutta high court in Port Blair further asked LG Joshi to appear on the adjourned date, in virtual mode, and Chandra to appear personally in court to explain why they should not be punished for the contempt of court.
“This Court clearly finds flagrant and reprehensible contempt on the part of Admiral DK Joshi, Lieutenant Governor, and CS, Keshav Chandra,” said the high court in its order, fixing August 17 as the next date.
It added that after Chandra’s suspension, the next senior-most officer in the administration would discharge the functions of the chief secretary. The court directed Admiral Joshi to deposit ₹5 lakh within seven days.
