VIJAYAWADA: Andhra Pradesh High Court served non-bailable arrest warrants on two senior IAS officers and directed the police to execute them and present the two officers before it by March 19.
A single-judge bench, headed by Battu Devanand, summoned the special chief secretary, BC welfare K. Praveen Kumar and BC welfare director B. Rama Rao in contempt of court case to be present before the court on March 5. When the case was taken up for hearing on Friday, the two bureaucrats did not attend the hearing and in turn filed petitions seeking exemption from personal appearance.
The judge struck down their petitions and served NBWs on them. He directed the Vijayawada police commissioner and Guntur SP to present the two before the court.
The judge also directed Vizianagaram collector M. Hari Jawaharlal and district BC welfare officer D. Keerthi to appear before the court on April 6 and adjourned the hearing.
Petitioner Chandramouli was working as a ward boy in the BC welfare hostel at Jonnavalasa in Vizianagaram district. He filed a petition in the High Court last year seeking direction to the BC welfare authorities to give him promotion. However, when the authorities did not do so, he moved a contempt of court petition in the High Court. Based on it, the court directed the two senior officers to be present before it on charges of contempt of court.
Meanwhile, sources maintain that the government may move the division bench seeking relief on the issue.
