The Special Court for MPs and MLAs on Tuesday found former Maharashtra legislator Omprakash “Bacchu” Kadu guilty of assaulting an IAS officer inside Mantralaya in 2018. The court sentenced him to three months in jail and imposed a fine of ₹10,000, but stayed the order to allow him time to challenge the verdict in the Bombay High Court. Kadu has also been granted bail.

The case stems from a September 26, 2018, incident when Kadu allegedly stormed into the office of an IAS officer, accompanied by seven to eight associates. At the time, the officer, identified as Pradeep, was in a meeting with Deputy Secretary Pradip Chandran. According to the prosecution, Kadu confronted him over the conduct of the ‘Mahapariksha’ competitive examinations managed by the Maharashtra IT Corporation. The exchange allegedly escalated into verbal abuse, and Kadu is said to have gestured to strike the officer with an iPad.

Special Judge Satyanarayan R. Navander, while delivering the judgment, remarked: “There are legal ways to address the grievances. Many avenues were open for him. He could have addressed his grievance even directly through the Chief Minister. Instead of choosing the appropriate and legitimate way, he went to the office of the informant and in unsuited fashion, made an assault thereby maligning the image not only of the officer, but the government itself.”

The court further observed: “No doubt, there can be grievances about governance or management of a particular department or even regarding conducting the examinations during recruitment processes of the government, that does not mean that any representative of the people would go to such an officer and attack him violently.”

The judge underscored the importance of civil servants in public administration, stating: “IAS officers hold a crucial position in the country's governance, playing a key role in policy implementation, public administration, and development initiatives.”