Bhubaneswar, March 26 -- The Orissa High Court has directed an officer of State's Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare Department to pay Rs 1 lakh as penalty to a petitioner for inordinate delay in obeying court's order stating that "it exhibits scant respect for the orders of the Constitutional Court, if no respect at all".
The Division Bench of Justices Krishna Shripad Dixit and Chittaranjan Dash in an order stated that "this is a case of criminal brooking of delay by the contemnor (Manoj Kumar Pattnaik, Under Secretary-cum-Deputy Secretary (In-Charge) to Government, Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare Department).
A Coordinate Bench of this Court had earlier on 18 December 2024 had asked the Deputy Secretary, Food Supplies and Consumer We...