VIJAYAWADA: The Andhra Pradesh High Court has set aside a minor penalty of censure imposed on a woman revenue officer, ruling that the phrase “Should I tell you?” (“Meeku Cheppala?”) could not be treated as misconduct warranting disciplinary action.
The court also directed the State government to consider her name for promotion to the post of Tahsildar.
Justice Nyapathy Vijay delivered the judgment while allowing a petition filed by Malathi, who challenged the disciplinary proceedings and the denial of her promotion.
Malathi joined government service in 2005 as a Junior Assistant on compassionate grounds. She was promoted as Senior Assistant in 2010 and as Deputy Tahsildar in 2018.
She is currently eligible for promotion as Tahsildar and was placed at 238th position in the Deputy Tahsildars’ seniority list issued on May 31, 2026.
The dispute arose after 77-year-old D. Prabhakar Rao lodged a complaint alleging that Malathi had spoken disrespectfully to him while responding to his request for information under the Right to Information (RTI) Act.
He claimed she asked him, “Should I tell you?” in an inappropriate manner.
Based on the complaint, the West Godavari District Collector issued a show-cause notice and later imposed a censure.