NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court has issued a notice of contempt to the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) following a dispute over the dismissal of a Palika Sahayak, despite a stay order in place from the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT).
The petitioner had been served with a misconduct memo on December 21, 2023, which ultimately led to a termination notice being issued on June 14, 2024. Seeking relief, the petitioner approached CAT, which granted a stay on the termination on July 12, 2024.
However, it is alleged that NDMC attempted to sidestep the stay by withdrawing the original termination notice on August 7, 2024, only to issue a fresh dismissal notice two days later, on August 9, 2024.
Dissatisfied with the lack of action in contempt proceedings at CAT, the petitioner then raised the matter to the Delhi High Court. On October 8, the High Court voiced concern over NDMC’s conduct, viewing it as possibly intentional and issued a notice to that effect.
A bench comprising Justices C. Harishankar and Sudhir Kumar Jain remarked that the NDMC’s actions raised suspicions, with the withdrawal and reissuance of notices being an apparent attempt to undermine CAT’s ruling. They noted that the Tribunal had taken a narrow approach in reviewing NDMC’s actions and emphasized that the petitioner’s dismissal could not have been enforced while the stay was in effect from July 12, 2024.
The HC expressed skepticism over the withdrawal of the first termination notice on August 7, 2024, followed by the immediate issuance of a new one. This sequence of events, the court suggested, indicated a coordinated effort to force the petitioner into continued legal battles. The HC questioned the respondents’ good faith and legitimacy, implying that NDMC was attempting to erode the Tribunal’s authority through these actions.