Allahabad High Court frames contempt charges against four senior IAS officers

The Allahabad High Court's Lucknow bench has framed contempt of court charges against four senior IAS officers from the Uttar Pradesh government. The court expressed significant dissatisfaction after the officials failed to provide evidence of complying with a judicial order issued on July 19, 2022.

The original order, stemming from the Suresh Chandra Verma case, directed the government to provide specific financial and service benefits to employees, including salary re-fixation, payment of arrears, and the issuance of revised Pension Payment Orders (PPO). The court had also mandated a seven percent simple interest penalty if these benefits were not provided within four months.

The four officials facing contempt charges are Additional Chief Secretary (Finance) Deepak Kumar, Principal Secretary (Namami Gange) Anurag Srivastava, Principal Secretary (Irrigation) Anil Garg, and Principal Secretary (Rural Engineering Department) Saurabh Babu. The court has directed the officers to appear on October 13.