Chennai: In a significant development, the Madras High Court on Thursday suspended a one-month simple imprisonment sentence imposed on Anshul Mishra, a senior IAS officer from the 2004 batch of the Tamil Nadu cadre, in a contempt of court case. The interim relief was granted by a Division Bench comprising Justices M.S. Ramesh and V. Lakshminarayanan, who also directed Mr. Mishra to deposit ₹25,000 with the court’s Registrar (Judicial) within three weeks.
The Bench emphasized that the direction to deposit the amount was without prejudice to the officer’s otherwise clean service record and adjourned the case to July 21, 2025, for further hearing.
Contempt Conviction Over Delayed Action in Land Reconveyance Case
Mr. Mishra’s conviction stems from a contempt plea filed by elderly siblings R. Lalithambal and K.S. Viswananthan, who have been engaged in a prolonged legal battle to reclaim part of their land acquired by the Tamil Nadu government in 1983. The 17 cents of land, located near Nesapakkam Road in Chennai, was originally acquired to construct Tamil Nadu Housing Board tenements, but remained unused for decades.
After legal intervention, the government reconveyed 10.5 cents of the land. However, 6.5 cents were retained for road widening, forcing the petitioners to initiate further legal proceedings. In a November 22, 2023 ruling, Justice P. Velmurugan directed Mr. Mishra – then serving as the Member Secretary of Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) – to consider the plea and issue appropriate orders within two months.
The directive, however, was not complied with in the stipulated time, prompting the siblings to file a contempt petition.
Court Critical of Bureaucratic Delay
While the CMDA eventually complied with the order after the contempt petition was filed, Justice Velmurugan noted with concern the two-year delay and held Mr. Mishra in contempt. The judge remarked that such bureaucratic delays in implementing court orders were “not isolated incidents”, and sentenced Mr. Mishra to one month of simple imprisonment—a sentence that he initially suspended for a month to allow time for appeal.
Appeal Filed; Sentence Suspended
Mr. Mishra appealed the sentence, and the Division Bench on Thursday agreed to suspend the imprisonment. The appeal will now be taken up for final hearing on July 21, 2025.
