Punjab and Haryana High Court serves notice on Vidhan Sabha Secy over contempt plea

Chandigarh, June 17

The Punjab and Haryana High Court today put Vidhan Sabha Secretary Shashi Lakhanpal Mishra on notice on a contempt of court petition alleging deliberate and intentional disobedience of an order in a seniority dispute.

Fixing the matter for July second week, the High Court also made it clear that reply, if any, be filed by the date fixed. The notice of motion and the direction by Justice Jaishree Thakur of the High Court came on a petition filed by Jaswinder Singh through senior counsel DS Patwalia and Adityajit Singh Chadha, Advocate.

Justice Thakur’s Bench was told that the petitioner’s demotion was stayed by the High Court, but the order was disobeyed. The matter has its genesis in a pending petition filed before the High Court last year by Jaswinder Singh against Punjab Vidhan Sabha Secretariat and other respondents under the category of “seniority dispute of government employees, Punjab”.

“The fact remains that the petitioner has been promoted prior to two of the respondents. Keeping in view the peculiar facts and circumstances and also in the light of the fact that the counsel for the state is praying for further time to file reply to the writ petition, demotion of the petitioner vide the impugned order dated November 13, 2019, shall remain stayed till the next date of hearing,” Justice Augustine George Masih had asserted. — TNS