Hyderabad : Telangana high court on Tuesday expressed strong displeasure over the state govt’s failure to implement a 2021 court order relating to pension, gratuity and pension commutation benefits for a retired high court employee, warning that further delay could invite contempt proceedings.
The court gave the govt a final opportunity and posted the matter to Nov 17. The directions came while hearing a contempt petition filed by G Nirmala, a retired attender of the high court, alleging non-implementation of orders passed in her favour in Dec 2021.
A division bench comprising acting Chief Justice P Sam Koshy and Justice Suddala Chalapathi Rao made it clear that sufficient time had already been granted for compliance and said that “nothing less than compliance report (will be accepted).
Alleging inaction despite the order, she subsequently moved the court seeking contempt action. Special govt pleader S Rahul Reddy informed the court that the process of finalising the petitioner’s claim was under way and that the govt was considering granting relief by treating the matter as a special case. The court warned that contempt proceedings would be initiated if the order remains unimplemented by the next hearing.
In the earlier order, the high court had directed the govt to treat Nirmala’s case as a special case and take an appropriate decision by relaxing the relevant rules in view of her circumstances. Rejecting the argument, the bench observed that no such cases had been brought before the court so far.