A day after the surfacing of controversial videos showing his meeting with Bharatiya Janata Party leaders Sujana Chowdary and Kamineni Srinivas at a star hotel 10 days ago, retired IAS officer Nimmagadda Ramesh Kumar on Wednesday filed contempt of court case against the Jagan Mohan Reddy government in Andhra Pradesh.
Nimmagadda charged the state government with not allowing him to resume his duty as State Election Commissioner as per the orders of the state high court, which the Supreme Court refused to stay. The high court admitted the petition and took up the petition for hearing.
Nimmagadda alleged that the state government had wilfully and deliberately violated the May 29 directions of the HC to continue him as the SEC.
He argued that the refusal by the Supreme Court Apex Court to stay the high court judgement would automatically infer that he be allowed to continue as the SEC.
"In total disobedience of the order dated May 29, I am not being permitted to be restored to my earlier position as SEC and discharge the duties, as the election notification (for local bodies) is continuing to be in force", he said in his petition.
Nimmagadda told the high court that Justice Kanagaraju, who was appointed in his place in April, was still being treated as the SEC and the facilities provided to the post are being extended to him.
Making government chief secretary, panchayat raj department secretary and SEC secretary the respondents, Nimmagadda appealed to the court to punish them under Sections 10 and 12 of the Contempt of Courts Act.
