Andhra Pradesh: Gajuwaka tehsildar sentenced for six month jail in contempt of court case

The Andhra Pradesh High Court has sentenced Visakhapatnam District's Gajuwaka Tehsildar MVS Lokeswara Rao to six months in jail and fined him Rs 2,000 for contempt of court. The District Collector was directed to collect the amount under the Revenue Recovery Act if the fine is not paid and ordered Lokeshwara Rao to appear before the High Court Registrar (Judicial) on the 18th of this month and then be sent to the Civil Prison. To this extent, Justice Mallavolu Satyanarayana Murthy delivered the judgment.

P. Ajay Kumar and another filed a petition in the High Court in 2014 alleging that the authorities were evacuating them from their land in Gajuwaka mandal's, Tunglam Village Survey No. 29/1. The High Court, which heard the case, ordered that petitioners should not be vacated their land. However, authorities demolished constructions on the land. The petitioners then filed a contempt of court petition, which was heard by Justice Satyanarayana Murthy.

The tehsildar explained in his counter that the petitioners had occupied government land. The judge, who also examined the counters of other officers, ruled that the petitioners were required to be treated by law to vacate government land if they occupied it. The court objected that the constructions were demolished without doing that work, which was also done despite court orders. It said he could not act against the court orders unless they could be challenged in the appellate court if they were illegal. The tehsildar was found to have deliberately violated the court orders. The judge, therefore, sentenced the tehsildar to six months in jail and a fine of Rs 2,000 under the Contempt of Court case.