HC directs IAS officer Smita to refund Rs 15 lakh

In a big shock to Smita Sabharwal, an IAS officer and Chief Minister’s Secretary Smita Sabharwal, the Telangana High Court had directed her to refund Rs 15 lakh, which she got from the State government for filing a defamation suit against a magazine.

Nearly seven years ago, Smita Sabharwal and her husband Akun Sabharwal (an IPS officer) appeared on the ramp during a fashion show. However, a weekly English magazine published an article on the IAS officer with the heading ‘No boring Babu’.

Following this incident, Smita requested the State government to sanction Rs 15 lakh to file the civil suit as Rs 9.75 lakh was needed to pay the court fee. The State issued a GO (Routine) No. 2296 on August 20, 2015, approving the above mentioned to the officer. She filed a civil suit of defamation against the magazine seeking Rs 10 crore compensation before the 25th Additional Chief Judge of Hyderabad Civil Court in 2016. But, it was eventually dismissed five years later.

However, two more petitions were filed against the state government for sanctioning public money to the IAS officer’s personal case. The magazine too filed a writ petition against the same.

A bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Abhinand Kumar, in their verdict, said Smita Sabharwal should return the money to the government within 90 days, observing that the grant was not for any public purpose.