The Gujarat High Court has ordered Vadodara Municipal Commissioner Vinod Rao to remain present before the court on Monday in a case related to use of social platform.
The IAS officer had apparently communicated with a Gujarat High Court judge via a social media platform with regards to an ongoing court case.
The judge took objection to this action of Rao. Any move to contact a sitting judge could tantamount to making efforts to influence the outcome of the case and generally the judge would state ‘Not before Me’ and send the case to the chief justice. However, Justice R H Shukla of Gujarat High Court took a stringent view and issued a contempt notice against the Vadodara Municipal Corporation, asking him to remain present before the court on Monday.
Though Vinod Rao has apologized to the High Court, the High Court has kept more hearings on Monday and asked Rao to remain present in the court. However, Justice Shukla expressed his disapproval against Vinod Rao asking why he was sending messages to the High Court and whether he was aware of his responsibility.