Publicly abusing govt officials can cost elected representatives their post

Ahmedabad: Using vulgar language to publicly abuse government officials is considered misconduct and can be a valid reason for removing elected representatives from their positions, said the Gujarat high court while upholding the dismissal of a councillor from Unjha for publicly insulting a government official during Covid-19 restrictions when latter tired to close a market.

Justice Nirzar Desai emphasized the importance of protecting human life over business interests and criticized the councillor, Bhavesh Patel, for not assisting officials in preventing the spread of Covid-19.

Patel was caught on video abusing the chief sanitary inspector who was enforcing the closure of a market to curb the pandemic surge. Despite Patel’s claims that his actions were in good faith, the court found that he should have cooperated with the local administration and encouraged the public to comply with the regulations. DeshGujarat