# Allahabad HC refers IAS officer Durga Shakti Nagpal for criminal contempt 2026-08-24T05:21:38+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 3 independent outlets (4 source reports) The Allahabad High Court has referred the conduct of senior IAS officer and Devipatan Divisional Commissioner Durga Shakti Nagpal to the court dealing with criminal contempt after a civil judge alleged she attempted to influence and intimidate her over a phone call regarding a pending land suit in Gonda. Civil Judge Shabina Khan told the district judge that Nagpal called her on July 15, 2026 while she was on leave and asked how long she would stay away, saying she was a senior IAS officer and threatening to complain to the High Court. The judge said the tone amounted to undue pressure. Nagpal said she only called to check on the judge's leave status because the case, pending since 1997, involved land needed for her office building, and she did not discuss the case. Justice Syed Qamar Hasan Rizvi said the tone gave a direct impression the presiding officer was being influenced and that courts cannot ignore insulting language used against a judicial officer. The district judge had already transferred the suit to another court, but the High Court directed the matter be placed before the appropriate contempt bench after directions from the chief justice. ## Indian Opinion Analysis LiveLaw and Hindustan Times led with the High Court's criminal contempt reference and its observation that the call struck at judicial independence, framing Nagpal's conduct as a serious attack on the judiciary. The Hindu ran two versions, one giving space to activist Amitabh Thakur's demand for a probe and Nagpal's alternate account that she only asked about leave. The divergence is between a judiciary-first framing and one that balances the official version with the officer's explanation. The contempt proceedings will test whether the call crossed the line from inquiry to intimidation. ## Coverage Coverage: 4 sources, 2 government-critical, 2 neutral - livelaw.in (neutral report) Led with the criminal contempt reference, gave both judge's and officer's versions - hindustantimes.com (neutral report) Led with HC taking serious view, quoted court's observation on judicial independence - thehindu.com (government critical) Led with 'uproar', gave prominent space to activist demanding probe and transfer - thehindu.com (2) (government critical) Led with 'row deepens' and activist's demand for high-level probe This story was synthesised by AI from the 4 sources linked above. Updated: this story now draws on 4 sources. Last updated 2026-08-24T20:36:28+00:00. Tags: Allahabad High Court, Durga Shakti Nagpal, Gonda, Shabina Khan Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/allahabad-high-court-refers-ias-officer-durga-shakti-nagpal-for-criminal-contempt/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/allahabad-high-court-refers-ias-officer-durga-shakti-nagpal-for-criminal-contempt/#story-in-brief How this brief was made: an AI model read the reports linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. Stance labels are editorial classifications of how each outlet framed this story, assigned by the same model, not ratings of the outlets. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/