The Telangana High Court on Monday imposed a fine of ₹1.5 lakh on the Life Insurance Corporation of India, finding fault with the latter’s action of filing appeals against a single judge’s order to regularise services of temporary sub-staff members.
A bench of Chief Justice Raghvendra Singh Chauhan and Justice B. Vijaysen Reddy observed that LIC had filed the appeal to evade the contempt of court petitions that were coming up against it for not complying with the single judge direction.
The bench imposed a fine of ₹50,000 each in three petitions against LIC for wasting the time of the High Court and directed it to deposit the money in Lawyers Welfare Trust.
The amount should be deposited in two weeks and the receipts should be handed over to the HC Registry.
Otherwise, contempt of court proceedings would be initiated against LIC, the bench said.
On July 19, 2019 the single judge instructed the LIC to regularise persons working as peons temporarily after hearing petitions filed by them.
As the LIC failed to comply with the direction, the temporary workers moved the HC and filed contempt petitions.
Meanwhile, LIC had filed appeals over the single judge direction.
