Contempt Case: High Court Orders DC Ganderbal to File Response by August 12—No More Extensions; Must Appear Personally
Srinagar, August 5, : The High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh Monday issued a final warning to Deputy Commissioner Ganderbal, Shyambir Singh, in a contempt case. The DC has been directed to file a response to the charges leveled against him by the Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM), Ganderbal, by August 12 and to appear personally before the court on that date.
According to Srinagar based news gathering agency Kashmir Dot Com’s legal correspondent, appearing personally before a division bench comprising Justice Atul Sreedharan and Justice Sanjeev Kumar, the Deputy Commissioner was informed about the contempt charges levelled against him by the Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM), Ganderbal.
The court emphasized the seriousness of the matter and directed the DC to file a response to the charges by or before the next date of hearing. The bench made it clear that no further extensions would be granted. The case has been listed for the next hearing on August 12, (next Monday) where the DC’s mandatory personal appearance has been mandated.
The development comes after the DC was summoned by the court last week in response to a contempt petition filed by a Ganderbal judge. The judge had accused the DC of interfering with the judicial process and attempting to intimidate him.
Pertinently, the controversy erupted when Sub-Judge Ganderbal, Fayaz Ahmad Qureshi, issued an order attaching the salary of several government officials, including the Deputy Commissioner, in connection with an execution case.
The 2018 batch IAS officer Shyambir Singh, serving as Deputy Commissioner Ganderbal since 2022, is alleged to have initiated actions that were seen as attempts to intimidate the judge.
The lower court had earlier initiated contempt proceedings against the DC for allegedly interfering with the judicial process and attempting to intimidate the judge.
Then, Fayaz Ahmad Qureshi, Chief Judicial Magistrate Ganderbal, referred criminal contempt proceedings against Deputy Commissioner Shyambir Singh to the High Court under the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971, after the officer failed to respond to a show-cause notice issued to him by a lower court.
In an order on Thursday, August 1, a court of Sub-Judge Ganderbal district observed that it had given “sufficient opportunities” to the DC to respond to the notice, which was issued to him last month in a suo motu contempt petition.
The court of Sub-Judge ruled that Singh “neither bothered to appear before the court nor has he furnished his reply.”
”Accordingly, this court deems it appropriate to proceed in accordance with The Contempt of Courts Act, 1971 r/w rules framed by the Hon’ble High Court of J&K for regulating the procedure of contempt of itself and of the subordinate courts dated 23rd October 2023,” the court ruled, adding that it was referring the matter to the High Court for initiating criminal contempt proceedings against Singh.
Taking strong note of the case, the division bench of the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, comprising Justice Atul Sreedharan and Justice Sanjeev Kumar, had issued a summon to Deputy Commissioner Shyambir Singh. The division bench took a serious view of the matter and directed Singh to be present before the court on August 5 (today) at 11:00 AM.
“Any attempt by him (DC Ganderbal) to avoid service of summons or his non-appearance shall be viewed seriously by the court, and the court shall resort to coercive proceedings to secure his presence,” the court, as per Kashmir Dot Com, had directed on Friday. The court had appointed senior advocate R.A. Jan as amicus curiae to assist it in the case.
Pertinently, Shyambir Singh is the son-in-law of senior BJP leader Prahlad Joshi, who is currently Union Minister of Food, Civil Supplies, and Consumer Affairs in the Modi government. Joshi has been a minister since 2014 and a Member of Parliament since 2004. (KDC)
