Madras High Court quashes one-month jail sentence for IAS officer Anshul Mishra

A division bench of the Madras High Court has quashed the order sentencing IAS officer Anshul Mishra to one month of simple imprisonment for being found guilty in a contempt of court proceeding. According to a report by The Hindu, the division bench of the High Court set aside the sentencing order passed by a single judge.

The division bench, comprising Justice J. Nisha Banu and Justice S. Sounthar, allowed the contempt appeal filed by the IAS officer on 15 September, 2025. Along with this, the bench also permitted the officer to withdraw the amount of ₹25,000 deposited in court while filing the appeal.

The bench observed that the sentence given to the officer for contempt was improper, as he had complied with the order passed by the single judge in the writ proceedings even before a legal notice was issued in the contempt application. However, the bench expressed strong dissatisfaction regarding the excessive delay in complying with the court's order. This delay was of more than 18 months. Justice Banu wrote in her order that the delay in compliance with directions due to lack of reasonable cause should be taken seriously.

The entire dispute is linked to a writ petition filed in 2003 by senior siblings named R. Lalithambal and K.S. Viswanathan. They had been struggling for years to get back their valuable immovable property. The property had been acquired for public purpose, but according to reports, it was not used for that purpose.

According to the petitioners, their 17 cents of land located near Nesapakkam Road in Chennai was acquired in 1983 to build tenements for the Tamil Nadu Housing Board. However, when the land was not used for a long time, the petitioners began a legal battle to recover the property.

As a result of the writ petition filed in 2003 and subsequent contempt proceedings, approximately 10.5 cents of land were returned to them, but the remaining 6.5 cents were retained for the purpose of widening Nesapakkam Road. The siblings started a second legal battle to recover the remaining property.

While disposing of their second writ petition on 22 November, 2023, Madras High Court Justice P. Velmurugu had directed the Member Secretary of CMDA to consider the petitioners' request and pass an appropriate order within two months. However, due to non-compliance with this order, the siblings filed a contempt application in 2024.

A legal notice was issued by Justice Velmurugu on 13 March, 2025, making the personal appearance of Mr. Mishra in court mandatory. Subsequently, on 28 April, 2025, he was found guilty of contempt. In addition to the jail sentence, the officer was also ordered to pay ₹25,000 as compensation to the siblings from his personal funds. While passing orders in the contempt application, Justice Velmurugu had stated that it is seen in many cases that poor and aggrieved parties, after approaching public authorities for redressal of their legitimate grievances, are forced to seek directions from constitutional courts. Even after judicial intervention, the concerned authorities delay compliance with orders for their own reasons or ignore them completely, forcing parties to resort to contempt proceedings for the enforcement of their rights.

Upon appealing against this sentence, a division bench comprising Justice M.S. Ramesh and Justice V. Lakshminarayanan had stayed the one-month simple imprisonment sentence on 12 June, 2025, and directed the officer to deposit ₹25,000 with the Registrar (Judicial) of the High Court without any impact on his service record until the disposal of the appeal.