Uttar Pradesh IAS officer Durga Shakti Nagpal is facing a new controversy after allegedly making an indecent call to a civil judge in connection to a land dispute. The Allahabad High Court directed that the matter be placed before the appropriate court for consideration of criminal contempt.
It appears that the new controversy comes after years of Durga Shakti Nagpal, a renowned IAS officer from Uttar Pradesh, taking action against illegal sand miners when she was serving as an SDM in Gautam Buddh Nagar.
What is the Gonda land dispute?
According to reports, the land dispute in Gonda has been ongoing since 1997 and pertains to Jyoti Vidya Mandir School and Gonda municipal council. According to the case records, the disputed property is recorded as nazul land in the name of the Commissioner, Devipatan Division. The school is alleged to have constructed a building on the disputed property.
The case was with Civil Judge (Senior Division) Shabina Khan, who received a call from Nagpal on 15th July when she was on leave. According to the judge, Nagpal enquired about her leave and wanted to discuss the case over the phone. The judge reportedly told her that a pending case could not be discussed over the phone
She further mentioned that she had already moved an application for transfer of the case. It appears that her application was approved by the district judge, who transferred the case to his counterpart in Gonda with the same designation.
However, the Allahabad High Court was apparently not pleased with the manner in which the judicial officer (judge) was approached. As per the report, the conversation was of a nature “which prima facie gives a feeling of mala fides” and “attempts to browbeat and harass” the judicial officer and “impede the course of justice”. In simple terms: The High Court was concerned that the judicial officer may have been approached in a way that appeared intended to put pressure on or intimidate the judge, potentially affecting the normal judicial process.
It was further mentioned that such an incident “hardly can be ignored” and directed that the matter be placed before the appropriate court for taking action for criminal contempt after the directions from the Chief Justice of the High Court or the senior most judge.
It is important to mention here that the Court did not find Durga Shakti Nagpal guilty of criminal contempt.Meanwhile, Nagpal is reported to have reacted to the development by saying that she did not have any intention to discuss the pending case when she called Judge Shabina Khan. She further stated that the only reason she contacted the judge was to enquire about the status of her leave and whether it would be extended or not. She denied discussing the disputed case over the phone.
From sand-mining crackdown to another controversy
Durga Shakti Nagpal’s latest controversy comes over a decade after she became one of the most popular young IAS officers in Uttar Pradesh.It was in 2013 that she became involved in a major political controversy after taking action against illegal sand miners in Gautam Buddh Nagar. She served as an SDM there and took up the charges following a series of complaints.
Her orders to take down the wall of an under-construction mosque in Kadalpur village led to her suspension from the post by the Uttar Pradesh government. It appears that the row began when local Samajwadi Party MLA Narendra Bhati accused her of fueling communal disharmony in the region. He further allegedly recorded a video in which he claimed that he managed to transfer her within minutes of the incident.
Nagpal’s sympathizers on the other hand claimed that she was targeted for taking action against illegal sand miners. The government was accused of taking action against her for the mosque issue.
However, it appears that her suspension led to widespread condemnation, with as many as 250 legislators from the Samajwadi Party demanding action against her. Nevertheless, her suspension was later revoked by the Uttar Pradesh government in September 2013.
Over a decade later, Durga Shakti Nagpal finds herself in another controversy this time involving an alleged indecent call to a judicial officer. It shall be interesting to see how the latest drama unfolds as it appears to be in its infancy. At this point in time, it would be safe to suggest that The Allahabad High Court has taken note of the alleged conversation between Nagpal and Judge Shabina Khan. The matter has been referred to the concerned court for considering contempt proceedings. It is possible that no action would be taken against Nagpal.
For an IAS officer who rose to prominence for taking action against illegal sand miners in Gautam Buddh Nagar, the latest development is surely not welcome.
@Rohit Manral