New Delhi:
The Supreme Court today stayed the arrest of the country's top two scientists, including former DRDO chief Dr VK Saraswat, in a contempt case.
Saraswat and senior scientist Dr G Malakondaiah were on Thursday sentenced to three weeks simple imprisonment by the Madras High Court for committing contempt of court by disobeying its April 2009 order related to re-employment of a school clerk.
Both scientists will have to surrender to police in a week. If they fail to do so, an arrest warrant will be issued.
A division bench comprising Justice S Rajeswaran and Justice PN Prakash on Wednesday directed Saraswat and Malakondaiah, who is also the Director of Defence Metallurgical Research Laboratory, to pay a fine of Rs 2,000 each personally.
The contempt of court petition was filed by S Joseph Raj, an employee of the school run by Combat Vehicles Research & Development Establishment (CVRDE) at suburban Avadi.
The bench directed the government to take appropriate departmental action against them for the "reckless, negligence and willful disobedience of the order of the Court".
The court held Saraswat, a Padmabhushan awardee and former Scientific Advisor to the Defence Minister and Director General of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), guilty of Civil Contempt under the contempt of courts Act, 1971.
Saraswat and senior scientist Dr G Malakondaiah were on Thursday sentenced to three weeks simple imprisonment by the Madras High Court for committing contempt of court by disobeying its April 2009 order related to re-employment of a school clerk.
Both scientists will have to surrender to police in a week. If they fail to do so, an arrest warrant will be issued.
A division bench comprising Justice S Rajeswaran and Justice PN Prakash on Wednesday directed Saraswat and Malakondaiah, who is also the Director of Defence Metallurgical Research Laboratory, to pay a fine of Rs 2,000 each personally.
The contempt of court petition was filed by S Joseph Raj, an employee of the school run by Combat Vehicles Research & Development Establishment (CVRDE) at suburban Avadi.
The bench directed the government to take appropriate departmental action against them for the "reckless, negligence and willful disobedience of the order of the Court".
The court held Saraswat, a Padmabhushan awardee and former Scientific Advisor to the Defence Minister and Director General of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), guilty of Civil Contempt under the contempt of courts Act, 1971.
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