The Punjab and Haryana High Court took up a contempt petition for urgent hearing during its winter break, filed by a senior professor from Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) in Patiala. The petition alleges that the Punjab government deliberately disobeyed a previous court order that protected the professor's service status.
Court Takes Prima Facie View of Contempt
The petition was heard by Justice Amarjot Bhatti on Friday. The petitioner, Dr Sanjiv Pal Singh, a senior professor in the department of post-partum (family welfare) at GMCH Patiala, challenged a retirement order issued against him. The order, dated December 31, 2025, was issued by the principal secretary of medical education and research for Punjab.
Dr Singh's counsel, Mohit Garg, argued that this order was issued in clear violation of a high court directive from December 16, 2021. That directive had instructed the state to maintain a status quo regarding the petitioner's service and had specifically stayed his retirement at the age of 58 years until the final disposal of an ongoing writ petition.
Allegations of Wilful Disobedience
Invoking Sections 12 and 2-A of the Contempt of Courts Act, the petitioner sought action against the principal secretary for "wilful and deliberate disobedience" of the court's order. Upon learning that the retirement order was issued despite the existing stay, the court took a prima facie view that the matter required serious consideration.
The court subsequently issued a notice of motion in the contempt petition. The Additional Advocate General (AAG) for Punjab, appearing for the state on advance notice, accepted the notice on behalf of the respondent. The state's counsel sought time to file a detailed reply to the allegations.
A History of Judicial Intervention
The petitioner highlighted that this was not the first time the department had attempted to retire him at 58. A similar move was previously stayed by the high court on December 22, 2021. In that instance, the court had even issued a suo motu show-cause notice to the then principal secretary of medical education and research for allegedly interfering with the judicial process.
It was submitted that this earlier show-cause notice remains pending. Therefore, the fresh retirement order from December 2025 amounts to a second violation of the continuing stay on the professor's retirement. The court has now adjourned the matter to February 9, 2026. On that date, the state of Punjab and the principal secretary are expected to place their official stand on record before the court.
The case underscores the ongoing tussle between a senior medical academician and the state administration, with the judiciary repeatedly intervening to protect the professor's service rights. The next hearing will be crucial in determining whether the court holds the state officials in contempt for allegedly flouting its orders.
