By IANS, New Delhi : Irked over Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) Chairman Anshu Prakash’s failure to appear before it to explain non-payment of pension dues to a retired employee, the Delhi High Court has ordered him to be present on May 10.
Justice S. Murlidhar said Monday: “The court takes a serious view of the attitude of the DTC chairman in presuming that by merely filing an application for exemption from appearance, he can stay away from the court.”
“It is not open to the DTC chairman to unilaterally decide to avoid compliance of the binding orders of this court,” he said.
“Worse still, the application seeking exemption is supported by the affidavit by DTC’s deputy chief general manager,” the court said.
Earlier, while hearing a complaint by the retired DTC employee that his pension benefits had not been released so far despite the high court ordering its release on Aug 11, 2006, Justice Murlidhar had asked the DTC chairperson to be present in the court on April 30, if dues were not paid by then.
In its previous order, the court had said: “If compliance affidavit is not filed on or before April 30, along with pension fixation order, Prakash will be personally present in the court.”
Explaining Prakash’s non-appearance in the court, the DTC counsel pleaded that a special leave petition had been filed in the Supreme Court in February 2007 against the August 2006 order of the high court. Counsel, however, failed to produce a copy or the number of the review petition.
Angry over the excuse, Murlidhar said, “The court fails to appreciate how the DTC chairman could presume that he is not required to be present in the court when the order of the single judge has been affirmed by a division bench of the high court and has not been stayed by the Supreme Court.”
“The judicial order is still operative,” he added.
The court also directed the DTC to deposit within a week with the court the whole amount due to the petitioner, which could be released after outcome of the petition filed in the apex court.