Amaravati, Sep 2 (IANS): The Andhra Pradesh High Court on Thursday sentenced five IAS officials, including four serving, to imprisonment, ranging from two weeks to one month, and a fine of Rs 1,000 each for not implementing court orders in a land acquisition case.

The court, however, allowed the officials to challenge the order and suspended the same for one month.

The high court took a serious note of the IAS officials disobeying the court order to pay compensation to a woman, whose land in Nellore district was acquired by the government.

It directed the compensation amount be deducted from the salaries of the officials concerned.

Retired IAS officer Manmohan Singh and S. S. Rawat were sentenced to imprisonment for one month each. Then Nellore district Collector Seshagiri Babu, Mutyala Raju, and M. Imtiyaz were sentenced for two weeks each.

In June, the court had sentenced two IAS officials to one month imprisonment and a fine of Rs 1,000 each for not implementing court orders on the filling of certain vacancies in the Horticulture Department.

The court sentenced Panchayat Raj Commissioner Girija Shankar and Horticulture Commissioner Chiranjeevi Chowdary. The judge, however, withdrew his order after government special counsel gave a commitment to the court that its orders would be implemented in the next two weeks.