Supreme Court Warns Officials: You’re Not Above the Law!

New Delhi: The Supreme Court warned public workers that they are not above the law. This warning came when a court was discussing a case about a deputy collector who did not follow a high court order. The deputy collector had appealed against a decision from the Andhra Pradesh High Court, which had already rejected his requests.

The high court had ordered that he cannot remove people from their homes in Guntur district, but he did it anyway in January 2014, even after being told not to by the court in December 2013.

During Monday’s hearing, Justice B R Gavai, one of the judges, asked the deputy collector if he knew where he wanted to go—suggesting that he could choose between jails in Amaravati, Vijayawada, or Tihar. The judge emphasized that officials should not think they are above the law.

When the officer’s attorney asked for mercy, the court responded, questioning what grounds there were for showing mercy. The court wanted to know why the officer didn’t follow the law, saying, “Did he think he was above the high court?”

The judge also reminded the officer that he harmed many families by removing them from their homes and took over 80 police officers with him to do it. The lawyer agreed that the officer made a big mistake.

The court said it would usually not have considered the officer’s request, but decided to give him a chance and issued a notice that is due on May 5. The high court’s punishment was paused until then. The judge jokingly told the officer he might have to go back to being a lower-ranking official if he got demoted.