The Jammu and Kashmir High Court has launched criminal contempt proceedings against Shyambir Singh, Deputy Commissioner of Ganderbal, following allegations of harassment towards a judge involved in a land acquisition dispute. This action was prompted by a recommendation from Ganderbal Chief Judicial Magistrate, Fayaz Ahmad Qureshi, who accused Singh of non-compliance with court orders and personal attacks through manipulation.
The division bench, comprising Justice Atul Sreedharan and Justice Sanjeev Kumar, has summoned Singh to appear in person on August 5. They warned that failure to appear could lead to coercive actions to ensure his presence. Singh, a 2018 batch IAS officer and son-in-law of former union minister Prahlad Singh Patel, faces serious accusations of abusing his administrative powers in retaliation against Judge Qureshi.
The conflict traces back to a January court order where Qureshi directed Singh to compensate individuals whose land was acquired by the government. Following this, Singh allegedly began an unwarranted investigation into property owned by Judge Qureshi as a form of retribution. According to Qureshi’s July 23 order, this investigation involved scrutinizing legal documents and conducting land demarcations under false pretenses, actions Qureshi labeled as a “clear abuse of official position.”
