SC Slams Deputy Collector from AP for Contempt and Demolishing Slum-dwellers’ Huts

Moneylife Digital Team 07 May 2025

Economy & Nation

Coming down heavily on a deputy collector from Andhra Pradesh, the Supreme Court held the officer guilty of contempt of court for overseeing the demolition of slum-dwellers’ huts in Guntur district, in direct violation of a High Court order. The SC also warned the deputy collector of imprisonment and termination from service if he failed to show remorse.

A bench comprising justice BR Gavai and justice AG Masih sharply criticised the officer, who carried out the demolition while serving as a tahsildar. When the apex court offered him a reprieve in the form of a demotion to deputy tahsildar, he refused to accept the proposal.

“We wanted to save his career,” justice Gavai observed. “But if he is not willing, we can’t help. This shows what attitude he must have had toward the High Court’s orders.”

Justice Gavai further remarked, “When you took 80 policemen to demolish people’s houses, you didn’t remember God?”

The bench noted that in sparing him a jail term, it had considered his children’s future. “We don’t want to be like him,” the judge said, “but we can’t let this go unpunished.”

Senior counsel Devashish Bharuka, representing the officer, sought time to consult his client after the Court expressed its dismay. The bench granted an adjournment until Friday, offering the officer one final opportunity to reconsider.

Justice Masih, echoing his colleague’s frustration, said, “It is only his children and his future we are thinking about.”

The bench also criticised the officer for showing no remorse, warning that its observations would be so strong that 'no employer will dare to employ him'.

Referring to the officer’s current position as director of protocol, justice Gavai remarked, “He must be thinking he is close to government.”

Mr Rao, the officer in question, had earlier challenged a High Court ruling that held him guilty of contempt and sentenced him to two months in prison. On Monday, the apex court had asked whether he would accept a demotion instead. His refusal on Tuesday prompted the strong judicial rebuke.

“We could not have been more lenient,” justice Gavai said. “If he remains adamant, we will not only dismiss him, we will also ensure he is not reinstated.”

The Court reiterated that no one is above the law. “After the High Court’s warning, if someone indulges in such actions, we cannot permit the court’s orders to be treated in this contemptuous manner,” justice Gavai said.

The matter will be heard again on Friday.

Comments

User

Meenal Mamdani

1 month ago

I am so happy to see that the judiciary, both at the level of the Supreme Court and state High Courts, is starting to enforce justice and not bow to the pressure from the center.

Perhaps it is my misconception, but to me it looks like this has become evident after the BJP/Modi/Shah juggernaut was effectively shown its place by the people of India in the 2024 general election.

Sometimes one person standing up for justice gives courage to another to do so and it soon snowballs.

We, in India, are seeing the effect of this phenomenon.

This is in the judicial sphere. Will it spread to the media which has been extraordinarily servile to the political dispensation at the center?

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