The Allahabad High Court has recently issued a bailable warrant against retired bureaucrat Prashant Trivedi in a contempt of court case.
The Lucknow bench of the high court has scheduled August 29 as the next date of hearing in the said matter.
The order was passed by Justice Rajesh Singh Chauhan in response to a petition filed by Dr. OP Gupta.
The petitioner alleged that on May 6, 2022, the high court issued an order directing the Uttar Pradesh government to extend the benefits of the special assured career progression scheme to ayurvedic and Unani medical officers on par with allopathic medical officers.
However, until now, the order has not been complied with by the concerned authorities. It is noteworthy that despite the state government’s special appeal against the order being dismissed, the non-compliance persisted.
At the time of passing the order, Prashant Trivedi held the position of additional chief secretary (finance), but he wilfully disregarded the court’s directive. The bench previously issued a bailable warrant regarding the matter; nevertheless, Trivedi failed to appear.
Chief Standing Counsel, First Prashant Singh Atal, sought further time for Trivedi’s appearance, citing an ailment. However, the bench declined the request, expressing doubts about the severity of the ailment that would preclude Trivedi from appearing in court.
Furthermore, the bench raised serious concern over the fact that instead of Prashant Trivedi, an affidavit was filed by Special Secretary Pushpraj, providing information about Trivedi’s sickness.
