Srinagar, August 12 :
Deputy Commissioner of Ganderbal, Shyambir Singh, found himself in the judicial dock Monday as he appeared before the High Court to respond to contempt charges leveled against him by the Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM), Ganderbal. Despite apologizing, the court sought a more concrete demonstration of remorse by approaching the CJM Ganderbal.
According to Srinagar-based news gathering agency Kashmir Dot Com, appearing before a division bench of the High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh comprising Justice Atul Sreedharan and Justice Sanjeev Kumar, the DC presented his response to the contempt charges. However, the court was not satisfied with the explanation.
“It was because of unforeseen circumstances, I can never dream of disrespecting the court. I apologize,” the DC submitted.
The court, however, was unimpressed. “If you are sincere, go to the CJM Ganderbal and tender your apology there. Your apology may be considered then,” the court observed.
Underlining the distinct roles of the judiciary and the executive, the court said, “We (judiciary) never tell you (executive) how to do your work. How can you do this? There are higher courts. If you think some order is wrong, you could have approached the High Court.”
The court refused to direct the DC to approach the CJM but suggested he do so voluntarily if he was sincere. The case has been adjourned to Wednesday, August 14.
Pertinently, the contempt case against Shyambir Singh, the 2018 batch IAS officer, serving as Deputy Commissioner Ganderbal since 2022, stems from a land dispute where Fayaz Ahmad Qureshi, Chief Judicial Magistrate Ganderbal, ordered the attachment of salaries of several government officials, including the DC.
The DC is accused of pressuring the judge and interfering with the judicial process by deploying a revenue team to survey the judge’s land without proper notice.
The Chief Judicial Magistrate initiated contempt proceedings, which were subsequently referred to the High Court and are now being heard.
Shyambir Singh is the son-in-law of former union minister and Senior BJP leader Prahlad Singh Patel. (KDC