PRAYAGRAJ, Dec. 27 -- The Allahabad high court has held that the highest officer in a government department will be liable for contempt proceedings against them if a writ court order is not complied with due to confusion in the administrative machinery.

Holding that the UP chief secretary will be liable for contempt in cases relating to the Land Acquisition Act 1984 as well as the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act 2013, the court said the distribution of work between the different departments of the state government cannot be used as a pretext to not implement the order of this court. It is the duty of the state government to ensure full compliance with the order passed b...