Manipur: Supreme Court Issues Contempt Notice To Chief Secretary Vineet Joshi For Non-Implementation Of Its Order

The Supreme Court has issued a contempt notice to Chief Secretary Vineet Joshi of Manipur, regarding the non-implementation of its previous order. The court had earlier directed the Manipur State Government to ensure continuity of service and provide consequential benefits to officers who were selected in the Manipur Civil Services (MCS) 2016 exam, conducted by the Manipur Public Service Commission (MPSC), and who successfully cleared a re-examination in 2022 following the court’s order.

A bench of Justices C.T. Ravikumar and Sanjay Karol issued the notice, temporarily exempting the alleged contemnors, including Land Resources Department Secretary Namoijam Kheda Vrata Singh, from personal appearance in court.

The Supreme Court noted that the State had failed to make the necessary arrangements to ensure the continuity of service for the officers in question. The original 2016 MCS Mains Exam had been invalidated by the Supreme Court due to irregularities, leading to a re-examination in 2022. The court’s 2022 verdict explicitly instructed the State to provide special arrangements for officers who were originally selected in 2016 and who cleared the re-examination.

Despite this clear directive, the petitioners, who successfully passed the 2022 exam for the same positions, were not granted continuity of service or the associated benefits. Alleging willful disobedience of the court’s order, the petitioners returned to the Supreme Court for redress.

Senior Advocate Gopal Shankarnarayan, along with Advocates Namit Saxena, Awnish Maithani, D. Bharat Kumar, Gopal Jha, Elangbam Premjit Singh, and Niraj Boby Paonam, appeared on behalf of the petitioners.

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