Contempt of court: Bailable warrant issued against SCR general manager

HYDERABAD: A division bench of the Hyderabad High Court on Friday issued bailable warrant against South Central Railway general manager VK Yadav for his failure to appear before the court on Jan 19 despite order of the court in a contempt case. The bench directed the city police commissioner to take steps ensuring that the GM was placed before the court on Jan 25. Besides, the bench directed the senior divisional personnel officer of Guntakal division, SCR J Balaramaiah to appear before it on the same day.
The bench of Justice Suresh Kumar Kait and Justice Shameem Akther was passing this order in a contempt case filed by Pratap seeking action against the concerned authorities of Railways for failure to implement the earlier order of the court.

As for the case, Pratap approached the railway authorities concerned seeking job on compassionate grounds following death of his father while working at Renigunta in Chittoor district falling under Guntakal railway division. Though the authorities have paid retirement benefits to his mother, they refused to provide him job in railways under compassionate ground. Aggrieved with the decision of the authorities, he first moved the Central Administrative Tribunal and then the High Court for relief.]

Petitioner’s counsel K Sudhakar Reddy told the High Court that the authorities have refused to consider the representation of the petitioner citing a circular issued by the railways in 1992 that jobs cannot be given on compassionate ground to the persons born to second wife. However, this circular was set aside by the High courts of Mumbai and Calcutta, and that the railways have not filed an appeal on it.

It was not proper to reject the petitioner’s application based on a circular which was not in force. In fact, a person born to any woman has legal validity and that the issue of first or second wife does not arise, he argued.When the contempt case came up for hearing, the bench took a serious note of non-appearance of the general manager and issued bailable warrant against him.