The Supreme Court has urged IPS officer D Roopa Modgil and IAS officer Rohini Sindhuri to resolve their long-standing dispute through mediation, the Bar and Bench reported on Friday.
Noting that the matter could be settled amicably, a bench of Justices Satish Chandra Sharma and Sanjeev Sachdeva appointed former Supreme Court judge Justice Kurian Joseph as a mediator to facilitate talks between the two officers.
The court’s intervention comes more than three years after two senior Karnataka state officers erupted in public over a series of Facebook posts, sparking defamation cases and claims of violation of the law. $1 crore in damages, and frequent scrutiny by the country’s highest court.
How a Facebook post sparked a dispute
The Bar & Bench report said the origins of the dispute date back to February 2023, when Al-Sanduri discovered a series of Facebook posts made by Moudgil. In those posts, Moudgil allegedly accused Sindoori of sharing her private photos with fellow IAS officers.
These allegations quickly became public, leading to a bitter and highly publicized exchange between the two officers.
The controversy escalated to such an extent that the Karnataka government eventually transferred both officers.
the $1 Crore Legal Notice
After the public dispute, Al-Sinduri issued a legal notice to Moudjil, requesting an unconditional apology and demanding… $The report added that the compensation amounted to Rs 1 crore. She claimed that the allegations damaged her reputation and caused mental suffering.
The dispute quickly moved to the courts.
In March 2023, a Bengaluru court took cognizance of the criminal defamation complaint filed by Sindoori and initiated proceedings against Moudgil. The IPS officer then approached the Karnataka High Court seeking quashing of the case, Bar & Bench reported.
But the Supreme Court refused to intervene, considering that the charges required a full trial.
The Supreme Court intervenes
Moudgil then moved the Supreme Court in December 2023. During the hearings before a bench led by Justice Abhay S Oka, the court repeatedly expressed concern about the public nature of the dispute, noting that such behavior among senior civil servants could have wider implications for governance and administrative performance, the Bar Association and Administrative Body report added.
At the time, the Supreme Court stayed the criminal defamation proceedings and ordered both officers not to speak to the media about the matter. She also encouraged an amicable solution, suggesting that Moudgil delete his social media posts and consider issuing an apology.
Again on Friday, a bench of Justices Satish Chandra Sharma and Sanjeev Sachdeva was hearing the petition filed by Sindoori challenging the order of the Karnataka High Court, when the court upheld the lower court’s decision to take cognizance of the defamation complaint filed by Moudgil.
Expressing concern over the years-long dispute, the council noted that the officers were damaging each other’s professional standing by continuing the legal battle.
“Both are excellent officers. They are ruining each other’s lives… This court is of the opinion that the problem can be resolved through mediation,” the court said.
