MADURAI: The Madurai bench of the Madras High Court has initiated suo motu contempt proceedings against Sivaganga district collector K Porkodi after she stated that a new outpatient building of a primary health centre (PHC) could not be opened because a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) regarding its construction quality was pending before the court.
A bench of justices G Jayachandran and K K Ramakrishnan criticised the collector for “shifting her incapacity on the judiciary” and directed the Registry to initiate contempt proceedings against her.
The collector had made the statement in a status report on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed this year by K Karuppiah, a resident of Kandaramanickam village, alleging irregularities in the construction of the outpatient building in the PHC in the village.
Karuppiah stated that the building was constructed in early 2023 at a cost of Rs 80 lakh, of which Rs 38 lakh was contributed by one of the villagers. The building shortly developed cracks, which indicated that substandard materials were used in the construction, Karuppiah alleged, and requested the court to direct authorities to inspect the building, carry out repairs and open it for public use, along with taking action against the contractor concerned.
In response, the collector in her report stated that the building is structurally sound and it has not been opened only because the PIL was pending.