In the case between IAS officer Rohini Sindhuri and IPS officer D Roopa Moudgil, the Supreme Court has asked the two officers to explore the option of settling their dispute by mutual communication.
The spat between the two started when on February 18, 2023, Sindhuri found out that Moudgil had made serious allegations against her on Facebook in which the latter had accused Sindhuri of sharing some of her private pictures with other fellow IAS officers.
As a result, a fight started between these two officers of the highest level which prompted the State government to order transfers of both these officers. But before that, on February 21, Sindhuri sent a legal notice to Roopa Moudgil demanding compensation of 1 crore in damage for causing her mental agony and loss of her reputation and also an unconditional apology.
It led to the Bengaluru court ordering an initiation of a criminal defamation case against D Moudgil based on the private suit that was filed by Sindhuri. Despite an appeal from Moudgil to quash the case against her the Karnataka High Court refused to accept her plea.
The High Court judge Justice Sachin Shankar Magadum said that the statements made by Moudgil on the social media account as well as in the print media needed a criminal trial. That is when Moudgil filed her plea in the Supreme Court.
Bar & Bench has reported that on December 13, 2023, the Apex Court recommended that the two officers should solve the matter with mediation from parties of high ranks involved in it. The court also remarked that if such public spats between officers of such high rank are leaked out, it will demean the image of the administration.
Justice Oka of the Supreme Court had asked the two officers to stop mud-slinging and suggested that the IPS Officer D Moudgil should give affirmation that she would remove all the posts shared against Sindhuri on social media and also apologise to her and thus they should settle the matter.
Both Justice Pankaj Mithal and Justice Abhay S Oka said that the officers are young and if the fight goes on it may affect their respective careers. And that is why they must resolve the issue by withdrawing their allegations and settling the dispute through mediation.