VIJAYAWADA: The Andhra Pradesh High Court on Monday took serious exception to the attitude adopted by AP Southern Power Distribution Company Limited CMD Santhosh Rao and former CMD of AP Transmission Corporation B Sreedhar, who is currently the member secretary of the State Pollution Control Board (APPCB).
Hearing their appeal challenging the verdict of a single judge sentencing them to one-month simple imprisonment and imposing a fine of Rs 1,000 on charges of contempt of court, a division bench comprising Justice Ch Manavendranath Roy and T Rajasekhar Rao found fault with the petitioners for not respecting the court’s instructions.
The bench set aside the directions of the single judge and issued interim orders, directing the respondents in the case to file a counter with full details. Further hearing in the case was adjourned to four weeks. A few shift operators, junior linemen and junior engineers from the Chittoor district had approached the HC seeking its directions to the officials for payment of minimum wages. A single-judge bench heard the case and directed the officials to take action on their request.
However, the petitioners filed a contempt of court case as the officials did not respond. Taking the matter seriously, the single judge on July 21 sentenced them to one-month simple imprisonment and a Rs 1,000 fine. Both officials were directed to surrender before the High Court registrar general.