BENGALURU: THE High Court on Friday stayed its order directing the Registrar of Vigilance to register an FIR and Chief Secretary to initiate a departmental inquiry against the Kodagu Deputy Commissioner.
Justice Vineet Kothari stayed his own order till December 14, the next date of hearing, after hearing an interlocutory application filed by Richard Vincent D’Souza, who was personally present in the court.
In the interim order passed on Thursday, Justice Kothari had directed the Registrar (Vigilance), High Court, to ensure registration of FIR against the DC and also ordered the Chief Secretary to hold a departmental inquiry against him under the Civil Service Rules.
This was after hearing a petition filed by B R Mohammed Shohaib from Virajpet in Kodagu district against the DC for passing two different orders on a land dispute between him and his brother over entries made in the land records.Observing that it is difficult to digest that two different orders were passed in a same case on the same day, the judge wondered as to how the senior IAS officer could pass them.
Taking note of the seriousness of the interim order, D’Souza appeared before the court with the interlocutory application. During the hearing, Additional Advocate General A S Ponnanna requested the judge to recall the order passed against the IAS officer and said all case papers will be produced before the court for its perusal.
The judge asked the DC to submit the records of the orders in question maintained by stenographers. The judge also asked Shohaib to submit his response to the interlocutory application.Meanwhile, D’Souza clarified that he did not change the date while passing the second order dated September 21, 2017, saying that it was a correction of the first order he passed on May 29, 2017. There was no mala fide intention behind it, he pleaded.