The Supreme Court has asked senior Karnataka officers, IPS D Roopa Moudgil and IAS Rohini Sindhuri, to resolve their long-running dispute through mediation, noting the continued litigation was adversely affecting their careers.
The Supreme Court on Friday asked senior IPS officer D Roopa Moudgil and senior IAS officer Rohini Sindhuri to resolve their long-running dispute through mediation, observing that the continued litigation was adversely affecting the careers of both senior Karnataka officers.
Mediation Ordered to End Dispute
A bench of Justices Satish Chandra Sharma and Sanjeev Sachdeva subsequently referred the matter to mediation in an effort to bring an amicable end to the defamation case between them. "Both are excellent officers. They are ruining each other's careers...This court is of the opinion that the matter can be resolved by way of mediation," remarked the bench.
The apex court then appointed former Supreme Court judge Justice Kurian Joseph as mediator to facilitate a settlement between the two officers. As an interim measure, it ordered that all further proceedings in the cases pending between the two officers shall remain stayed until further orders.
Background of the Legal Battle
In 2023, the top court put an interim stay on criminal defamation proceedings initiated by Sindhuri against Roopa. It had also directed the senior Karnataka-based civil servants not to speak to the media.
The apex court had stayed the proceedings after IPS officer Roopa filed an affidavit in terms of the previous order to delete controversial social media posts against IAS officer Sindhuri. It had asked Roopa to remove the posts while hearing a petition filed by her to quash the criminal defamation complaint filed by Sindhuri.
The apex court was hearing an appeal filed by Roopa against a Karnataka High Court order passed, whereby it had refused to quash a criminal defamation case initiated by Sindhuri against her.
Sindhuri claimed that Roopa had allegedly carried out a "character assassination" against her through social media posts. Sindhuri has alleged in her defamation complaint that Roopa shared photos, made allegations on social media, and made statements in the media questioning her personal and professional conduct to tarnish her before the public and colleagues.
This led to a public spat between the two, prompting the State government to transfer both officers. Sindhuri issued a legal notice to Roopa and demanded an unconditional apology and Rs 1 crore in damages for the loss of her reputation and mental agony.
A Bengaluru court, while hearing the private suit filed by Sindhuri, ordered the initiation of a criminal defamation case against Roopa. Roopa then approached the High Court for the quashing of the case, and her plea was rejected. Thereafter, Roopa moved the top court challenging the High Court's order.
Hearing the appeal, the top court had commented that if the officers continued to fight and refuse meditation, the State administration would come to a standstill. (ANI)
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