Senior IAS officer Anshul Mishra, from the 2004 batch of the Tamil Nadu cadre, has been appointed as the Additional Director (Administration) at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi. His appointment, under the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, was approved by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet, according to an official order dated May 28, 2025.
This appointment comes shortly after the Madras High Court held Mr. Mishra in contempt of court for failing to comply with a judicial directive. The court sentenced him to one month of simple imprisonment and directed him to pay ₹25,000 in compensation to two elderly siblings who were the petitioners in a longstanding land dispute.
Background of the Case
The contempt charge arose from a decades-old legal conflict involving 17 cents of land in Nesapakkam, Chennai. The land, originally acquired in 1983 for Tamil Nadu Housing Board tenements, became the subject of prolonged litigation. While a portion was eventually returned to the petitioners, the High Court, in 2023, ordered the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) to review the acquisition of the remaining land and respond within two months.
At that time, Mr. Mishra was serving as Member Secretary of the CMDA. However, he failed to comply with the court’s order within the stipulated period.
Justice Velmurugan, who delivered the ruling, remarked that Mr. Mishra’s justifications were neither bona fide nor satisfactory. The judge emphasized that disregard for judicial orders by public officials is alarming and unacceptable. “Once an order is passed by a court of law, it is binding on the executive. Compliance is not optional,” the court observed, adding that public servants are accountable to the Constitution and judiciary—not merely to their departments.
Mr. Mishra served at CMDA for nearly four-and-a-half years before being transferred in February 2025. He was then appointed as Managing Director of the Tamil Nadu Urban Habitat Development Board. His current deputation to AIIMS Delhi marks a significant administrative move, sparking renewed debate on bureaucratic accountability and the enforcement of judicial orders.
