Andhra HC raps SEC Nimmagadda Ramesh Kumar over contempt plea

VIJAYAWADA: The Andhra Pradesh High Court on Monday rapped State Election Commissioner Nimmagadda Ramesh Kumar on the knuckles, questioning whether his intention behind filing a contempt petition accusing the government of not following its orders to cooperate with him, was merely for publicity. The court asked as to why the SEC did not plead for an urgent hearing of the petition when it was filed on December 18, 2020 and had not come up for hearing for 42 days.

It sought to know why the SEC did not deem it necessary to place before the court the urgency in hearing the case for 42 days and suddenly approached it with a prayer to take it up as an urgent matter.Justice Battu Devanand, who heard the contempt petition filed by the SEC, said it makes the court believe the SEC is using the contempt petition for publicity only and if that was not the case, the SEC would have made a prayer to hear the petition earlier.

Justice Devanand also observed the court feels that the SEC is only trying to exert pressure on the respondents (Chief Secretary and Principal Secretary, Panchayat Raj, in the case) by filing the plea.The SEC filed the contempt petition against the government for allegedly not implementing the HC orders passed on November 3. 

The petition did not come up for hearing till January 29, Justice Devanand said and asked why the petitioner did not urge the High Court registry to place the matter for urgent hearing explaining its importance. Senior counsel Ashwini Kumar, appearing on behalf of the SEC, submitted that they had requested the registry to list the matter for hearing. 

High Court finds fault with SEC for showing urgency after 42 days 

Justice Devanand directed the High Court Registrar General to place before him the names of those in the registry responsible for the petition not coming up for hearing for almost 42 days, for taking necessary action.  Further, he said the content of the writ was published in newspapers the very next day of filing the petition, which suggests that the intent of the SEC was to gain publicity was achieved. 

 Justice Devanand said it is not correct that the content of the petition was published in newspapers before it came up for hearing and asked Ashwini Kumar to give legal advice to the SEC on the issue.
Justice Devanand also asked Ashwini Kumar as to who will file a petition in a court on behalf of a university. Responding to this, Ashwini Kumar said it is the registrar concerned who will file the petition. Justice Devanand questioned as to why the SEC himself had filed the writ instead of the secretary. 

Ashwini Kumar informed the court that the secretary was not cooperating with the commission and that they had even written a letter to the Chief Secretary to initiate action against the secretary.
Meanwhile, the SEC filed an additional affidavit to make Chief Secretary Aditya Nath Das also a respondent since the then CS Nilam Sawhney has retired. The court issued notices to Aditya Nath Das, Panchayat Raj Principal Secretary Gopal Krishna Dwivedi and retired Chief Secretary Nilam Sawhney, and posted the matter for further hearing to February 15. The court also directed the respondents to submit a report on the implementation of its orders issued on November 3 directing the government to cooperate with the SEC in discharging its duties.

SEC files addl Affidavit in HC
The SEC filed an additional affidavit to make CS Aditya Nath Das also a respondent since the then CS Nilam Sawhney has retired. The court issued notices to Das, PR Principal Secretary GK Dwivedi and Sawhney, and posted the matter for hearing to February 15