1 week ago
15
BHOPAL: A trial
court
in Vidisha district of Madhya Pradesh has attached the chair, furniture, computer and printer of the office of Sironj sub-divisional magistrate (
SDM
) Harshal Chaudhary over non-compliance of its order to compensate
farmers
for land acquired by
MP
Road Development Corporation (MPRDC) around 13 years ago.
Police and court officials carried out the attachment order on April 23.
The SDM office remained shuttered on Wednesday and Thursday. SDM Chaudhary, an MPPSC topper, ran into more trouble after he allegedly reacted to debates on social media on a pending appeal in the high court in the same case. He claimed his intention was to “save public funds”, and posted, “If I am attached too, I am willingly ready.”
Considering his post as contempt, the court has issued a notice to the SDM, seeking a reply within three days. Sources say a screenshot of his post was produced before the trial court.
“My intention was not to offend the court. I simply clarified some wrong messages being circulated in a closed social media group and I deleted it,” Chaudhary told TOI, adding that lawyers had informed the district court about the appeal in the high court. “We are taking legal advice from seniors and legal authorities on the matter,” said the SDM.
Thirteen years ago, the district court had ruled in favour of five farmers — Kapil Tyagi, Ashok Jain, Omprakash Jha, Rupesh Yadav and Archana Bhargava. The administration proposed compensations amounting to around Rs 40,000 for Tyagi and Rs 30,000 for Jain. However, subsequent court orders pushed these figures higher — Rs 1.9 crore for Tyagi and Rs 80 lakh for Jain. Substantial increments were also observed in the compensations awarded to Jha, Yadav and Bhargava.
On Feb 27, 2023, the court mandated the Sironj SDM and MPRDC to disburse the augmented compensations. MPRDC challenged this verdict in the high court, where the matter is being heard.
English (US) ·