Cuttack: Rapping a deputy secretary of food supplies and consumer welfare department for failing to comply with its earlier order on a judicial officer’s pay revision plea, Orissa high court has imposed a fine of Rs 1 lakh on the govt official to be paid personally to the complainant within four weeks.A two-judge bench of Justices Krishna Shripad Dixit and Chittaranjan Dash, while considering the judicial officer’s contempt plea on March 23, warned the deputy secretary that failure to comply with the order would attract an additional Rs 500 per day fine for the first month of delay and Rs 1,000 per day thereafter. The order was uploaded on Wednesday.The case relates to a judicial officer, who had sought revision of his salary after assuming the office of the president of a District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission effective from his date of joining — March 23, 2022. He sought pay revision as per the prevailing revised judicial scale of pay, 2022, and Odisha Consumer Protection (Salary, Allowances and Conditions of service of President and Members of the State Commission and District Commission) Rules, 2020, within a stipulated time.After finding his representation pending, the high court on Dec 18, 2024, directed the deputy secretary of the food supplies and consumer welfare department to take a decision on it within three months.Alleging non-compliance, the judicial officer moved the contempt petition on Jan 6, 2026. In response, the state filed a compliance affidavit on March 20, stating that the representation had been considered but a decision was delayed as “some new decision is being awaited at the hands of the Government” in light of “certain judgments of the Apex Court,” to avoid repeated amendments to rules. However, the bench rejected the explanation.However, terming the delay unjustified and reflective of disregard for judicial directions, the bench observed: “This is a case of criminal brooking of delay by the Contemnor who has taken the decision belatedly on 19.02.2026… The conduct of the Contemnor is contumacious to say the least. It exhibits scant respect for the orders of the Constitutional Court, if no respect at all.”Though the court dropped the contempt proceedings, it imposed the fine.
