SRINAGAR, Aug 5: The High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh Court on Monday gave seven days to Deputy Commissioner Ganderbal, Shyambir Singh, an Indian Administrative Service(IAS) officer, to file his reply to a contempt reference made by Chief Judicial Magistrate, Ganderbal.
The Deputy Commissioner Ganderbal appeared before the division bench comprising Justice Atul Sreedharan and Justice Sanjeev Kumar after it took up the matter to initiate criminal contempt proceedings against him.
On Friday, the High Court had ordered his personal presence and a notice was issued in criminal reference made by Chief Judicial Magistrate Ganderbal Fayaz Ahmad Qureshi under Contempt of Courts Act after the Deputy Commissioner allegedly tried to implicate the magistrate in a ‘false case'.
“Deputy Commissioner, Ganderbal, Shyambir has appeared before this Court in person. This Court apprised him about the reference forwarded to this Court by the learned CJM, Ganderbal, and the charge levelled against him. To this, the contemnor replied that it has not been done intentionally to demean the Court,” the Division bench of High Court said.
The Court gave seven days' time to Deputy Commissioner to file his reply.
“Office is requested to forward the reference made by the learned Judge of the District Judiciary, Ganderbal to the Deputy Commissioner, Ganderbal today itself in order to give him an opportunity to file his reply to the said charge levelled against him by the learned CJM, Ganderbal. He is expected to file his response on or before the next date of hearing,” the High Court order read.
The case has been listed on August 12.
The CJM Qureshi had in an order on July 23 accused DC Singh, an Indian Administrative Service officer on deputation to Jammu and Kashmir from Madhya Pradesh, of launching a personal “attack” on him through “manipulation and fabrication”.
The CJM alleged that Singh acted against him over an order in which the judge directed the withholding of the officer's salary due to non-compliance with a judgment issued on October 31.
