The Madurai Bench of Madras High Court on Thursday suspended two-week simple imprisonment sentences for Pradeep Yadav (IAS:1992:TN), former Secretary of School Education Department, now Additional Chief Secretary of Highways and Minor Ports Department. This follows a contempt of court case.
The Division Bench, comprised of Justices S.S. Sundar and D. Bharatha Chakravarthy, also suspended the two-week simple imprisonment sentences that were handed down to Muthupalanichamy, the then Director of Teacher Education Research and Training, and Boobala Anto, the then Principal of the District Institute of Education and Training in Munanjipatti, Tirunelveli district.
This decision follows an appeal lodged by the State against the order issued by the Single Bench. The original sentence of two-week simple imprisonment was given to the three officials based on a contempt petition filed in 2020 by P. Gnana Pragasam from Tirunelveli.
Pragasam had initially sought a court directive to ensure the regularization of his service and the extension of monetary benefits. Although the court had issued such a direction, it was not adhered to, leading Pragasam to file the contempt petition.
The service regularization took place in 2021 following a dismissal of an appeal in 2019. Subsequently, the court’s order concerning monetary benefits was also honored. The Single Bench highlighted the considerable delay on the part of the respondents in complying with the court’s original order.
