As many as 46 contempt petitions are pending against IAS Bhawani Singh Detha.
The fact was highlighted at High Court while hearing a contempt petition for not adding the old service record of the lecturer (petitioner) to the service benefit under the career advancement scheme.
During the hearing, Rajasthan High Court summoned two IAS officers – Bhawani Singh Detha and Shuchi Tyagi besides one other officer before the High Court on March 28, 2025.
The court also raised questions over the functioning of bureaucracy in the state.
“Will senior officers not comply with the orders of the court without the order of the court? This tendency of the authorities is very serious,” Justice Umashankar Vyas said.
The court said that such a tendency of the officers not only affects the dignity of the court but also shakes the faith of those who come in the hope of justice.
What is the case?
The petitioner's lawyer Ajay Chaudhary said that the case is related to Dr. DC Dudy, who is working as a lecturer in Government College Sambhar Lake. He was a lecturer in Haryana before his appointment in Rajasthan in 1998.
However, the department did not add his previous service with Haryana government under the Career Advancement Scheme. This resulted in a delay of one and a half years in getting the higher salary scale. He then filed a petition in the High Court. While hearing, the single bench of the High Court on May 5, 2022, decided in favour of Dudy.
State govt had moved Supreme Court
The state government then appealed to the division bench regarding the judgement. The bench refused to stay the single bench's order, so the government moved the Supreme Court. But the Supreme Court had also rejected the government's petition on 27 September 2023. despite that, the department did not comply with the order.
It is not appropriate to send officers to jail
The court said the order was complied with within 18 days after the court took strict stand in the matter.
However, this compliance could have been done without the intervention of the court.
The responsibility of senior officers as public servants grows more. But they remained inactive in their duty and continued to ignore the order of the court. This situation is unfortunate, the court said.
The court further stated that officers may not be sent to jail as the orders have been complied with.
“Since it took a long time in compliance of the court order, they may be penalised with monetary penalty. In such a situation, all three officers should appear before court at 11 am on March 28, 2025 and tell the court why they should not be punished,” the court ordered
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