LUCKNOW, March 18 -- The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court on Tuesday expressed sharp displeasure over alleged inaction in a case involving repeated misuse of government funds in Kheri district, calling the response of state officials and the Lokayukta "incomprehensible." While scheduling the next hearing for April 21, the court ordered issuance of notices to the Lokayukta, the Kheri DM, other officials of the district administration, the village development officer concerned and a Class IV employee. A division bench of Chief Justice Arun Bhansali and Justice Jaspreet Singh issued the order in response to a public interest litigation (PIL) petition filed by one Mohammad Salim. The petitioner alleged that during his posting in the Kheri district, VDO Ahmed Hasan had transferred government funds amounting to Rs 6,02,995 into the bank account of Class IV employee Furqan Ali who worked under him. Following an inquiry into the matter, departmental action was initiated on June 8, 2020, resulting in a penalty on Ahmad Hasan, which included withholding one annual increment and an adverse entry in his service book. The petitioner contended that such a lenient penalty emboldened the employee. Consequently, on April 10, 2023, he once again transferred government funds-this time amounting to Rs 95,94,015-into the same employee's personal account. It was further submitted that due to the lack of appropriate action, a complaint was lodged with the Lokayukta. However, the Lokayukta dismissed the complaint on the grounds that the official concerned had already received an appropriate punishment regarding the previous incident. In light of this, the petitioner approached the court seeking directions for strict action....