Fri May 23 16:28:18 UTC 2025: **News Article:**

**Madras High Court Holds Officials in Contempt, Sentences Imprisonment and Fines**

**CHENNAI – May 23, 2025** – The Madras High Court has found multiple government officials guilty of contempt of court in separate cases, issuing sentences ranging from fines to imprisonment. The cases stem from failure to comply with court orders regarding land-related petitions.

In a case brought by John Chandy, a 74-year-old senior citizen, the court found former Coimbatore Collector Kranthi Kumar Pati, District Revenue Officer M. Sharmila, Revenue Divisional Officer P.K. Govindan, and Coimbatore North Tahsildar Manivel guilty of contempt. Pati, Sharmila, and Govindan were directed to pay ₹10,000 each to Chandy from their salaries. Tahsildar Manivel was sentenced to one month of simple imprisonment and ordered to pay his monthly salary as compensation. The sentence was suspended for 30 days, allowing time for an appeal. The case revolved around the officials’ failure to act on Chandy’s plea to remove illegal entries from the ‘patta’ related to his property in Chinnavedampatti village. The court absolved Village Administrative Officer Yamuna.

In a separate case, Chengalpattu Tahsildar Venkataraman was found guilty of contempt for not considering P. Shankar’s request for a patta. He received a one-month simple imprisonment sentence and was ordered to pay ₹25,000 compensation from his salary to the petitioner, with an additional 10 days of imprisonment as an alternative if he fails to pay. The sentence was also suspended pending appeal.

Finally, in a third case filed by G. Murugathal, Coimbatore Special Tahsildar (Land Acquisition) Shri Malathi, Madukkarai Tahsildar A. Sathyan, and Vellalur Village Administrative Officer were sentenced to one month of simple imprisonment and ordered to pay ₹25,000 each in compensation, with a default penalty of 10 additional days of imprisonment.

These rulings underscore the court’s commitment to enforcing its orders and holding officials accountable for their actions, or lack thereof, in handling citizen petitions.

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