Bhubaneswar: Following a Supreme Court order, the state government has asked officials of the law, finance and water resources departments, responsible for delay in submission of special leave petition (SLP) in the apex court, to pay a fine of Rs 50,000.
The SC, in its order July 27, 2020, had said, “There is an inordinate delay as set out in the application of 531 days. The application for condonation of delay reflects a saga of movement of files from one department to the other with no cogent explanation why for months together files have been detained in the department.”
“There is something to be said on the merits of the matter, that is why we are inclined to issue notice on the application for condonation of delay as well as on the special leave petition but subject to deposit of cost of Rs 50,000 with the Supreme Court Advocates on Record Welfare Fund,” it said.
The court asked the concerned department to hold an inquiry, fix responsibility and recover the cost from the delinquent officers and file the certificates of recovery within four weeks.
Following this order, the water resources department has asked the law, finance and engineer-in-chief (EIC) of water resources departments to recover the amount from the officer responsible for the delay.
As per government records, the law department has delayed the file for 141 days while the finance department put it on hold for 233 days and EIC for 73 days. Accordingly, the officers will pay the fine imposed by the SC.
