HYDERABAD: Following the directions, Visakhapatnam joint collector G Srijana recently appeared before the Hyderabad High Court and paid penalty imposed in a contempt case. Justice P Naveen Rao had earlier directed the concerned authorities of AP government to pay all the gratuity dues to the retired employees of Anakapalli VV Ramana cooperative sugar factory at Tummapala in Visakhapatnam. When the authorities failed to implement the court order, D Suryaprakash Rao and 59 other employees filed contempt case before the court.
Though the government holds 98 per cent share in the sugar factory, it has been dodging the issue saying that the issue pertains to cooperative sector and it has nothing to do with the matter, the petitioners pointed out. Expressing displeasure with the indifferent attitude of the authorities towards the court, Justice Rao summoned the joint collector on Feb 2 for explanation. However, the officer filed a petition seeking exemption. Later, the judge slapped a penalty of `2000 and directed her to appear before the court on Feb 8.