The Punjab and Haryana High Court has initiated contempt proceedings against three Sirsa district officials for allegedly failing to comply with a court stay order in a case related to the dismissal and non-regularisation of ABPO Neeru Rani.
Justice Sandeep Moudgil on Tuesday issued notices to the Sirsa Deputy Commissioner, the Chief Executive Officer-cum-District Programme Coordinator and the Block Development and Panchayat Officer, Dabwali, directing them to appear personally before the court on May 29.
According to petitioner Neeru Rani, she was working on a contractual basis as an Assistant Block Programme Officer (ABPO) in Dabwali. She was dismissed from service in September 2025 in connection with a probe into MGNREGA works.
She subsequently approached the high court, which passed an interim stay order on September 18, 2025. Following the order, the administration allowed her to resume duty on September 19, 2025.
The petitioner stated that her services were continued after a hearing on December 11, 2025, through an extension letter. However, despite the interim stay order remaining in force during the hearing held on April 20, 2026, the authorities neither extended her contract nor allowed her to continue in service.
Her counsel, Karmveer Singh Baniyana, informed the court through a contempt petition that the officials had violated the court’s interim directions. In his order dated May 26, Justice Moudgil observed that “the intention of this court was clear” and sought an explanation from the officials on why contempt proceedings should not be initiated against them under Article 215 of the Constitution.
