CHENNAI: Dr V K Saraswat, former Scientific Adviser to the Minister of Defence and Director General, DRDO and Dr G Malakondaiah, former Director of DMRL in Hyderabad have been ordered to undergo simple imprisonment for three weeks by the Madras High Court for not obeying the court’s orders passed way back in in 2009.
A division bench of justices S Rajeswaran and P N Prakash awarded the punishment while allowing a contempt application from S Joseph Raj, on Wednesday.
Raj lost his job as the school in which he was working as a librarian was closed. Holding that he was not a Central government employee, the government refused to reinstate him. Confirming the orders of the Central Administrative Tribunal, a division bench of the Madras High Court had directed the government to consider Raj for the post of Senior Technical Assistant.
Contending that this order had not been complied with, Raj filed the present contempt petition. “Even though an appointment order had been issued on July 14, 2009 to Joseph Raj, the duo did not allow him to join duty. Thereafter, they suppressed this fact before the Supreme Court. Therefore, we find that the duo have wilfully disobeyed the orders of this court,” the court said in its order.