HC castigates BBMP Commissioner Anil Kumar for continuously defying its orders

Gives him three options to seek leniency from court, else face action for contempt of court

Castigating Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) Commissioner B.H. Anil Kumar for continuously defying a series of orders passed in PIL petition related to poor road conditions, the Karnataka High Court on Friday gave him three options to plead leniency from the court for his ‘deliberate defiances’ or face action for contempt of court.

A division bench comprising Chief Justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka and Justice Hemant Chandangoudar found that the Commissioner had failed to provide names and addresses of the Mayor, Deputy Mayor, leaders of ruling and opposition parties, and chairpersons and members of standing committees of the BBMP as directed by the court on January 20.

The bench had directed him to give the names and addresses as the Commissioner had on November 27, 2019 filed an affidavit stating a meeting, attended by the Mayor and others, had ‘unanimously’ decided to discuss in the BBMP council the court’s July 31 order to give publicity to its order that citizens can seek compensation from the civic body for loss and damage caused due to poor conditions of roads and footpaths.

Instead of submitting the names, the BBMP counsel on Friday argued on behalf of the Commissioner that there was no meeting as claimed in the earlier affidavit but it was only a consultation. However, the bench, in the morning session, told the counsel that either the Commissioner has to provide names by 3 p.m. or he would be summoned to the court.

In the afternoon session, the bench cautioned the Commissioner, who was present though he was not summoned by the court, that he may have to be prosecuted for perjury for filing a false affidavit.

How can he say that no meeting was held when he had admitted conduct of meeting in his affidavit, the bench asked while observing that “this man is completely defying the court’s orders.... look at the degree of defiance...”

The bench said either the Commissioner has to admit that he had filed a false affidavit about the meeting, or he has to get affidavits from the Mayor and all the others who attended the meeting seeking their unconditional apology for disobeying the court’s order by deciding to discuss its order in the BBMP council instead of implementing it.

When the BBMP counsel tried to argue that there was a ‘mistake in drafting’ the affidavit, the bench said that Commissioner is not a school-going child and making a claim of ‘mistake in drafting’ would amount to aggravated contempt of court.

Observing that the Commissioner had summoned the meeting of politicians to disobey the court’s order and now it is backfiring on him, the bench said that Commissioner has one more option, to seek leniency, of filing an affidavit admitting that he had ‘wilfully disobeyed’ the court’s orders and filed a ‘false affidavit’, and giving an undertaking that he would henceforth adhere to every order passed by the court.

While making it clear that it is not compelling the Commissioner to exercise any of these options, the bench said that it would pass orders on Tuesday.