U'khand HC issues contempt notice over Bageshwar municipality acting EO appointment row

Nainital, Nov 20 (PTI) The Uttarakhand High Court has taken a stern view in a dispute over the appointment of the acting executive officer (EO) of the Bageshwar Municipal Corporation and issued contempt notices to council chairman Suresh Khetwal and chief assistant Vijay Singh Kanwasi for allegedly failing to comply with its earlier orders.

Bageshwar resident Hayat Singh Parihar filed a contempt petition, claiming that the state government appointed him as the acting EO on September 17, 2025, and he assumed charge the next day. However, the municipal council chairman allegedly withheld his financial powers for nearly three weeks.

According to the petition, the situation worsened when another officer was appointed as the acting EO in Parihar's place, and he was transferred to the Haldwani Municipal Corporation.

Parihar challenged both decisions in the high court, which stayed the new appointment.

Following the court's intervention, the government, on October 14, 2025, withdrew its order and cancelled the new appointment as well as Parihar's transfer. The government also informed the court that the process to appoint a regular EO had begun, after which the earlier petition was disposed of.

However, the Bageshwar Municipal Corporation held a meeting on October 17, 2025, and decided to appoint Kanwasi as the acting EO, bypassing Parihar.

Parihar also challenged this decision, following which the high court stayed the municipality's decision on October 31. Despite the stay, Parihar was allegedly not allowed to function as the acting EO, prompting him to seek contempt proceedings.

A single bench of Justice Ravindra Maithani has now issued contempt notices to the municipal council chairman and the chief assistant, directing them to present their case in court. PTI DPT RHL