Amethi DM late for hearing, faces HC ire

LUCKNOW: Lucknow bench of Allahabad high court on Tuesday severely reprimanded the district magistrate of Amethi, Prashant Sharma, for not appearing before the court in time to attend proceedings of a case.
The officer was let off only after he tendered a written apology to the court.
In January this year, hearing a petition filed by Ram Pratap Singh of Amethi, the court had directed the officials to ensure that the petitioner’s work was done within six months and asked the district magistrate to ensure compliance of the order.
The court had summoned the DM on Tuesday in connection with a contempt petition in the same case.
When the DM did not appear before the court for hearing at 12.30 pm and no explanation was given on his behalf, justice CD Singh expressed displeasure over the officer’s behaviour and directed the state authorities to ensure his presence in the court at 3.30 pm.
When the officer did not appear even at 3.30pm, the state counsel sought 15 minutes more. The officer finally appeared after some time.
Expressing displeasure over the DM’s behaviour, justice Singh directed him to stay in the court.
Later, the officer tendered an unconditional apology to the court after which he was allowed to leave.