High Court stays sentence of former IAS Suleman:Contempt appeal accepted, notice issued to opposing party

The Indore bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court has granted significant relief to former Health Department Chief Secretary Mohammad Suleman by staying the 2-month jail sentence issued in a contempt case. The division bench comprising Justice Vijay Kumar Shukla and Justice Alok Awasthi heard the matter. Suleman had filed a contempt appeal (CONA No. 32/2026) in the High Court against the sentence. Advocate Raj Saxena, appearing for the appellant, argued that Mohammad Suleman had not received any notice of the contempt proceedings and was unaware of the orders that were to be complied with. It was also pointed out that the original order (dated 06.12.2023), which he was accused of violating, had already been challenged in a writ appeal (W.A. No. 3612/2025), on which a stay had been granted. Interim stay on sentence order, notice to opponent After hearing arguments from both sides, the division bench granted interim relief, stating that the implementation of the sentence passed on 16.03.2026 would remain suspended until the next hearing. The court also issued notice to the opposing party, Ashok Kumar Padeyar. The next hearing is scheduled after four weeks. Single bench pronounced sentence on March 16 Earlier, on 16 March 2026, a single bench of the High Court, while hearing Contempt Petition (CONC No. 1582/2024), had found Mohammad Suleman guilty of violating court orders. The court had imposed a 2-month sentence for non-compliance. Case of delay in compliance with regularization order According to advocate Prasanna Bhatnagar, the case relates to the regularisation of employees in the Mandsaur Health Department. The court had directed the department on 6 December 2023 to regularise employees from 2004 to 7 April 2016. Order to comply within three months, yet no action taken The court had provided the department three months to comply with the order, but no action was taken within the stipulated period. Employees subsequently filed nine contempt petitions in the High Court, naming all relevant officers as parties. 9 Petitions and Department’s Arguments Following the December 2023 order, nine employees filed separate contempt petitions in April 2024. During the hearings, the Health Department claimed compliance, but repeated court warnings were ignored. Partial Compliance Even After Final Warning On 6 February 2026, the High Court issued a final warning, noting that the order was being deliberately ignored. Subsequently, on 12 March, the Health Department Commissioner issued an order approving arrears payment for only two of the nine petitioners.