HC sentences IAS officer to one month in jail

Court finds Anshul Mishra guilty of contempt, suspends sentence by 30 days to allow him to file an appeal

- R SIVAKUMAR @ Chennai

TALKING tough on the government officials failing to comply with the orders of the court within the stipulated timeframe, the Madras High Court has sentenced an IAS officer to one-month simple imprisonment in a civil contempt of court case.

The judge also ordered IAS officer Anshul Mishra to pay a compensation of ₹25,000 within three weeks, failing which he shall undergo a further period of 10 days of civil imprisonment. The court ordered the amount to be recovered from his salary.

However, the judge kept the order under suspension to enable him to file an appeal and ordered the Registry of the court to take steps for arresting him if he failed to prefer the appeal within the appeal period of 30 days.

Justice P Velmurugan recently passed the orders after finding the officer guilty of contempt of court when he was serving as the member secretary of Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA).