Hyderabad: Telangana high court has issued a bailable warrant against senior IAS officer and principal secretary (Finance) Sandeep Kumar Sultania and directed the Hyderabad police commissioner to arrest him in a contempt case and produce him before the court on Friday at 10.30am.Justice Nagesh Bheemapaka in the order issued on July 10 directed the commissioner to arrest the officer from “wherever he is found and produce him before the court on Aug 7 at 10.30am.”The judge also directed that Sultania might be released on bail if he furnishes a personal bond of Rs 5,000 with an undertaking to appear before the court on Aug 7 at 10:30am and continue attending the court until otherwise directed.Justice Nagesh Bheemapaka passed the directions while hearing a contempt petition filed by former Secunderabad Cantonment Board member J Ramakrishna, who alleged wilful disobedience of a 2024 court order.In 2024, the court had passed directions to the state govt to consider a representation of the petitioner and remit the pending surcharge on stamp duty collected from the board. Alleging non-compliance with the order, Ramakrishna moved a contempt case in March 2026.The judge initially issued a contempt notice to Sultania directing him to file a counter-affidavit, failing which the officer was asked to appear before the court. However, the judge noted that the counter was not filed and none appeared in the court on his behalf and ordered Sultania’s appearance on the next hearing date.When the matter came up for hearing on July 10, govt counsel sought more time to file a counter. Taking note of this, the judge recorded that no counter was filed and that no application seeking exemption from appearance was filed. Further rejecting additional time for the counter, the judge issued a warrant, directing the commissioner to return it to the court at the earliest, preferably before Aug 7, with a detailed report explaining how it was executed or the reasons why it was not executed.
