The Madhya Pradesh High Court has taken a stern view of a senior town planning official’s appearance during a virtual court hearing, after he joined the proceedings from his bed wearing underpants while buttoning his shirt. The Court has directed the State government to initiate disciplinary action and asked the officer to explain why criminal contempt proceedings should not be launched against him.
The incident came up before Justice Deepak Khot during the hearing of GSB Construction v. Amit Kumar Gahbhiya, a dispute involving the correction of land-use records.
The officer, Amit Kumar Gajbhiye, Joint Director of Town and Country Planning in Bhopal, had been directed by the Court on October 9 to file a compliance report. He was also required to appear in person if the directions were not complied with.
During Tuesday’s hearing, the Court noticed that Gajbhiye had joined the morning session from his bed and was still buttoning his shirt. His attire and manner of appearing before the Court drew sharp criticism.
The Bench observed that the conduct fell well short of the standards expected during judicial proceedings, describing it as misconduct and contemptuous behaviour. The Court consequently called upon the State to take disciplinary action against the official and directed him to submit an explanation on why criminal contempt proceedings should not follow.
Appearing for the State, Deputy Advocate General Swapnil Ganguly assured the Court that he would raise the matter with senior government officials. The State has been directed to initiate appropriate action and submit a report within four weeks.
Land-use dispute also draws the Court’s ire
The virtual hearing controversy was only one part of the proceedings. The Court also expressed dissatisfaction with the way the authorities had handled GSB Construction’s request to correct the classification of its land.
According to the firm, the property had been recorded as industrial land even though the applicable Master Plan designated the area for residential use.
The company submitted that a recommendation to correct the relevant map and land classification had already been forwarded on October 3, 2025, by the Joint Director of Town and Country Planning at Jabalpur to the Joint Director (IT) at the Bhopal directorate.
However, instead of treating the request as a correction of existing records, the authorities processed it as an application seeking a change in land use.
The Court questioned this approach and criticised the manner in which the representation had been dealt with, observing that the order passed on the company’s request was “merely an eyewash.”
Fresh application ordered through ALPASS portal
To move the land-record dispute forward, the Court directed GSB Construction to submit a rectification application through the Automated Layout Process Approval and Scrutiny System (ALPASS) portal.
Gajbhiye has been instructed to facilitate the uploading and acceptance of the application within seven days. Once the application is uploaded, the competent authority must decide it within four weeks.
The directions place two matters under scrutiny: the officer’s conduct during the virtual hearing and the administration’s handling of the company’s land-record correction request.
The case is scheduled to be heard next on November 30.
Advocates Saket Upadhyay and Dinesh Kumar Upadhyay represented GSB Construction. Deputy Advocate General Swapnil Ganguly and advocate Akash Malpani appeared for the State.