High court of Calcutta Suspended Keshav Chandra, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands’ chief secretary, fined lieutenant governor D.K. Joshi 5 lakh rupees for disobeying the court. On December 19, 2022, the Calcutta High Court division bench of “Justice Rajasekhar Mantha and Justice Bibhas Ranjan De” issued a ruling that neither the chief secretary nor the lieutenant governor had followed. They objected to the ruling in a rebuttal affidavit, to which court states “The contemnors have not even bothered to file any affidavit. This conduct is ex facie contumacious and has reduced the contempt jurisdiction of a Division Bench of this Court under Article 215 of the Constitution of India to a mockery. This Court clearly finds flagrant and reprehensible contempt on the part of the contemnors Admiral D.K. Joshi, Lieutenant Governor, Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Shri Keshav Chandra, Chief Secretary, Andaman and Nicobar Administration.”
The Supreme court stayed the order passed by High court CJI chandrachud commented “You must have done something drastic to get that order”²
[Briefly- In the situation of Andaman Sarvajanik Nirman Vibagh Mazdoor Sangh vs Admiral DK Joshi, Lieutenant Governor: Over 4800 daily wage employees of the local PWD and other agencies will be paid improved salaries with retroactive effect beginning in September 2017.]
Mahek Jain, Student at Vivekananda’s college of law , Intern under legal vidya
