Andhra HC sentences 5 IAS officers to jail terms

Andhra Pradesh High Court on Thursday sentenced five Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers in the state to jail terms for contempt of court and also imposed penalties on them.

Background: Land compensation issue
The state government had acquired land from a woman named Sai Brahma from Tallapaka village in Nellore district in 2015. However, she was not compensated for it. Despite a High Court order directing officials to pay the compensation within three months, it was not paid until March 2021 when a contempt case was filed. In connection with that contempt case, the High Court today ordered punishment to five IAS officers.

Four weeks imprisonment
Retired IAS Manmohan Singh and IAS officer SS Rawat have been punished with four weeks imprisonment and Rs 1,000 penalty, the Nellore collector Seshagiri Rao, IAS officer Mutyala Raju, IAS officer Mutyala Raju and IAS officer A MD Imtiaz have been punished with 2 weeks imprisonment and Rs 1,000 penalty.

Time for appeal
The High Court has provided one month time for appeal and suspended imprisonment till then.

Court expenses
The court has also ordered to pay Rs 1 lakh to the petitioner for meeting the court expenses. The amount shall be paid from the salaries of the IAS officers.

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(With ANI inputs)