The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed initiation of contempt proceedings against the U P Chief Secretary for flagrant violation of its orders to stop construction work of statues and memorials in Lucknow.<br/> The court also warned that Central forces can be deployed at the sites if such work continued.<br/> A bench comprising Justices B N Agrawal and Aftab Alam wondered at one stage whether the Chief Secretary can be sent to jail if the construction work is not stopped. The court issued notice to Chief Secretary Atul Kumar Gupta to showcause why contempt action should not be taken against him for violation of the court orders and asked him to personally appear in court on November four. <br/> Earlier the court had rebuked the state government asking it not to play politics with the court. It observed that violation of its order to stop work on memorials estimated to cost a whopping Rs. 2,600 crore seems to have been carried out on instructions from the highest level.
News On AIR | October 7, 2009 4:14 AM
SC orders contempt proceedings against UP Chief Secretary