STAFF REPORTER
GUWAHATI: State Chief Secretary (CS) Paban Kumar Borthakur has directed all officials of the departments to promptly act upon High Court orders/ directions to ensure compliance. If there is any scope for appeal/review/revision or some modifications, the Chief Secretary has directed the officials to approach the Court promptly instead of sitting over the Court order/judgment.
The Chief Secretary has directed that every department entrust a responsible officer to keep track of the Court cases and compliance with Court orders, and the senior-most secretary may review the status of all such matters on a fortnightly basis.
He said that every department might sensitize their officers and staff in dealing with Court cases, more particularly, in ensuring compliance with or follow-up action to court orders. He directed that every department might keep in touch with the government advocate or departmental counsel and also with the Judicial Department, and act proactively in filing proper petitions/affidavits etc. when called for and ensure compliance/follow-up of orders/directions of the Court in a prompt manner.
The directions came in continuation of the Personnel (B) Department's earlier office memorandum dealing with the Judgment of the Gauhati High Court barring the government officers from re-adjudicate by themselves and taking a decision contrary to the Court's judgment issued vide ABP 92/2012/254 dated 01/11/2021. The Chief Secretary brought it once again to the notice of the Government of Assam that "similar incidents have been taking place in some departments of the Government of Assam". In the present instance in Contempt Case (C) 406/2022 of Bhuban Chandra Das Vs Rajesh Prasad, the Commissioner and Secretary to the state Irrigation Department and others, the Gauhati High Court observed that "in the implementation of the judgment and order dated 27.10.2021 passed in W.P.(C) 5643/2021, the officials of different levels in Irrigation and Finance Departments are taking views, a prima facie reading of which gave an impression that the officials are taking a view which is different as well as over and above the view taken by the Court in its judgment and order which also would be a contempt of its own".
The High Court also observed that "the directions of the High Court are not complied with in many such cases by the officials of the government at different levels which necessitates the filing of contempt petition, and it is only after receiving the notice in a contempt petition that an order of compliance is passed and produced before the Court and the Court taking lenient view closes such contempt petition. The practice is to be deprecated and is not to be repeated".
The Gauhati High Court further directed that all officials of the Assam Government at all levels are to ensure that the Court's order is complied with in its true earnest, and if there is any legal impediment, to approach the Court once again rather than sitting over the judgment and orders of the Court for a period of time or to take a view different from the view taken by the Court in its judgment and order.
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