Madurai: The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court has put a temporary hold on the imprisonment sentence imposed by a single judge on Theni district's Chief Education Officer (CEO), Indrani, in a contempt of court case.

Case Background
Chinnamanur Balakumaran from Theni district filed a petition stating that he was appointed as an office assistant in a school, later promoted to laboratory assistant, and then transferred as a junior assistant. However, the Chief Education Officer subsequently demoted him to research assistant.

A single judge of the High Court overturned the demotion and directed authorities to review Balakumaran's representation and issue an appropriate order. Claiming that the directive was not followed, he sought contempt action against Indrani.

Court Proceedings
Justice P. Dhanabalan presided over the case, during which Indrani appeared in court, expressed regret, and sought additional time. Despite this, the judge sentenced her to three months of imprisonment and imposed a ₹2,000 fine, with the sentence suspended for two days.

Indrani then filed an appeal before a division bench, requesting an interim stay and cancellation of the single judge's order.

Stay on Sentence
A division bench comprising Justices J. Nisha Banu and S. Srimathi granted an interim stay on the single judge's ruling, thereby suspending the imprisonment order. The case will continue for further hearings.