Supreme Court Summons Maharashtra Revenue Secretary Over Contemptuous Affidavit

The Supreme Court has summoned Maharashtra's Revenue and Forest Department's Additional Chief Secretary Rajesh Kumar to explain why contempt proceedings should not be initiated against him. The court deemed certain statements in his affidavit as contemptuous, relating to compensation compliance for denotified forest land in Pashan, Pune.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday summoned Rajesh Kumar, the Additional Chief Secretary of Maharashtra's Revenue and Forest Department, to appear for a hearing. This decision came after the court noted that statements in an affidavit filed by Kumar suggested the court was not adhering to the law, prompting justices to consider initiating contempt proceedings.

Justices BR Gavai, Prashant Kumar Mishra, and KV Viswanathan ordered Kumar to personally attend the hearing on September 9. The bench indicated that the comments in the affidavit were prima facie contemptuous and issued a notice to Kumar to explain why these proceedings should not be pursued.

When informed that the affidavit was filed by an Additional Secretary, Justice Gavai questioned the qualifications of the officer. The Supreme Court was addressing issues related to compensating people for the denotification of forest land in Pashan, Pune. The bench criticized the State government for delaying tactics and threatened to halt the 'Ladki Behna Yojna' if compliance was not met.

(With inputs from agencies.)