SC dismisses contempt plea on IAS officer Nagpal's suspension

August 26, 2013

New Delhi, Aug 26: The Supreme Court today dismissed a plea for initiating contempt proceedings against the UP government and its Chief Minister for suspending IAS officer Durga Sakthi Nagpal, who had cracked down on the sand mafia in Gautam Budh Nagar.

The petition filed by an advocate had contended that the officer had only complied with the orders of this court in demolishing the illegal structure and the decision of state government to suspend her amounts to contempt.

However, a bench comprising justices H L Dattu and S J Mukhopadhaya said nothing is there to show that there is wilful and deliberate contempt by any of the alleged contemnors (state authorities).

"How does the action of state government amounts to contempt," the bench asked and noted that the authorities by themselves have not taken any decision relating to the apex court's orders on preventing unauthorised construction of religious buildings on public land.

The bench also said that the contempt petition has been filed too early when the state government has not taken final decision on the charge sheet issued to her.

The bench said the stage of contempt would only arise after the officer files response to the charge sheet and the state government takes a final decision.

The petition, filed by advocate M L Sharma, had also named Chief Secretary Javed Usmani, working Chief Secretary Aalok Ranjan and the Centre as respondents.

The petition had contended that action against 28-year-old Nagpal was in contempt of the apex court order on preventing unauthorised construction of religious structures on public land.

"Following the Supreme Court direction is not an offence that has been performed by the officer concerned," he had said.

Sharma had moved the contempt petition after his PIL seeking reinstatement of Nagpal, a 2010 batch IAS officer, and quashing of all proceedings against her was dismissed by the apex court on August 16 on the ground that he had no locus to move court in that regard.

The sub-divisional magistrate was suspended on July 27 ostensibly for ordering demolition of the wall of an under construction mosque in a village in Noida without following the due process.

The petition had sought judicial review of the suspension order and said, "Nagpal's victimisation is a new low in a long process of the subversion of bureaucracy."

The Uttar Pradesh government had on August 4 served a charge sheet on the officer, asking her to submit an explanation for her conduct.

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Average age of school children picking up drugs, smoking habit in 10 Indian cities around 13 years!

News Network

December 13,2025

New Delhi: School-going children are picking up drug and smoking habits and engaging in consumption of alcohol, with the average age of introduction to such harmful substances found to be around 13 years, suggesting a need for earlier interventions as early as primary school, a multi-city survey by AIIMS-Delhi said.

The findings also showed substance use increased in higher grades, with grade XI/XII students two times more likely to report use of substances when compared with grade VIII students. This emphasised the importance of continued prevention and intervention through middle and high school.

The study led by Dr Anju Dhawan of AIIMS's National Drug Dependence Treatment Centre, published in the National Medical Journal of India this month, looks at adolescent substance use across diverse regions.

The survey included 5,920 students from classes 8, 9, 11 and 12 in urban government, private and rural schools across 10 cities -- Bengaluru, Chandigarh, Delhi, Dibrugarh, Hyderabad, Imphal, Jammu, Lucknow, Mumbai, and Ranchi. The data were collected between May 2018 and June 2019.

The average age of initiation for any substance was 12.9 (2.8) years. It was lowest for inhalants (11.3 years) followed by heroin (12.3 years) and opioid pharmaceuticals (without prescription; 12.5 years).

Overall, 15.1 per cent of participants reported lifetime use, 10.3 per cent reported past year use, and 7.2 per cent reported use in the past month of any substance, the study found.

The most common substances used in the past year, after tobacco (4 per cent) and alcohol (3.8 per cent), were opioids (2.8 per cent), followed by cannabis (2 per cent) and inhalants (1.9 per cent). Use of non-prescribed pharmaceutical opioids was most common among opioid users (90.2 per cent).

On being asked, 'Do you think this substance is easily available for a person of your age' separately for each substance category, nearly half the students (46.3 per cent) endorsed that tobacco products and more than one-third of the students (36.5 per cent) agreed that a person of their age can easily procure alcohol products.

Similarly, for Bhang (21.9 per cent), ganja/charas (16.1 per cent), inhalants (15.2 per cent), sedatives (13.7 per cent), opium and heroin (10 per cent each), the students endorsed that these can be easily procured.

About 95 per cent of the children, irrespective of their grade, agreed with the statement that 'drug use is harmful'.

The rates of substance use (any) among boys were significantly higher than those of girls for substance use (ever), use in the past year and use in the past 30 days. Compared to grade VIII students, grade IX students were more likely, and grade XI/XII students were twice as likely to have used any substance (ever).

The likelihood of past-year use of any substance was also higher for grade IX students and for grade XI/XII students as compared to grade VIII students.

About 40 per cent of students mentioned that they had a family member who used tobacco or alcohol each. The use of cannabis (any product) and opioid (any product) by a family member was reported by 8.2 per cent and 3.9 per cent of students, respectively, while the use of other substances, such as inhalants/sedatives by family was 2-3 per cent, the study found.

A relatively smaller percentage of students reported use of tobacco or alcohol among peers as compared to among family members, while a higher percentage reported inhalants, sedatives, cannabis or opioid use among peers.

Children using substances (past year) compared to non-users reported significantly higher any substance use by their family members and peers.

There were 25.7 per cent students who replied 'yes' to the question 'conflicts/fights often occur in your family'. Most students also replied affirmatively to 'family members are aware of how their time is being spent' and 'damily members are aware of with whom they spend their time'.

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