HC threatens to jail officials if they disobey court orders

                                                      

 Which is the nearest jail, asked a fuming Madras High court making it clear that it would henceforth send  officials found willfully disobeying court orders to prison. The judges miffed at the increasing number of contempt of court petitions being filed nowadays and unless some officials are punished things would not change for the better. 
The Bench was hearing a petition by a teacher seeking action against the school management for failing to implement a court order to ensure pay parity between the school staff and their counterparts in other schools. The judges pointed out that the teacher was before the court fighting for hisrights since 2004, the HC has upheld his rights and the SC has dismissed the schools appeal and the authorities had not implemented the order. 
During arguments the judges observed"All is not well….we will punish the officials. Unless we punish the officials who are concerned it will not change. We will send them to jail. Tell us which is the nearest jail"

Another judge of the court on a similar issue said non implementation of the court ruling would strike the very root of the rule of law. He said the number of contempt of court cases which was just 421 in 1990 shot up to more than 2900 in 2011 and 2434 in 2012.
Dis obedience of the orders of the court strikes the very root of the law on which the judicial system rests the judge observed.

R K Viswanathan