NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Thursday ordered the release of two Uttar Pradesh IAS officers (finance secretary SMA Rizvi and special secretary (finance) Sarayu Prasad Mishra) who were taken into custody pursuant to an Allahabad HC order due to their failure to provide facilities for retired judges.
A bench of CJI DY Chandrachud, while ordering their release further stayed HC’s order of issuing bailable warrants to the state’s chief secretary and additional chief secretary and posted plea for April 28.
“Till the next date of hearing, there will stay of orders passed by the HC on April 4 and April 19.
The officers shall be released forthwith,” the bench said. Court’s direction came pursuant to the plea being mentioned by ASG KM Nataraj before the bench. Terming the incident as “unfortunate”, ASG urged the bench to direct for release of the two officers.
The state had approached SC against HCs' April 4 and April 19 orders. HC in its April 4 order had directed the state to implement a rule for providing facilities to retired judges. Failure of the state to act on the order had resulted in April 19 order wherein, issuing contempt notices against the two officers had directed their arrest.