Supreme Court refers dispute between Karnataka IPS and IAS officers to mediation

The court’s intervention comes more than three years after a public spat between two senior Karnataka officers culminated in mutual defamation proceedings and claims for ₹1 crore in damages. File | Photo credit: The Hindu

The Supreme Court on Friday (June 12, 2026) directed Karnataka IPS officer D Roopa Moudgil and IAS officer Rohini Sindhuri to try to resolve their long-running dispute through mediation, observing that their failure to reach an amicable solution was “ruining” their careers.

A Bench of Justices Satish Chandra Sharma and Sanjeev Sachdeva appointed former Supreme Court judge Justice (Retired) Kurian Joseph as mediator to facilitate a settlement between the two officers.

“Both are destroying each other’s careers… In the present case, this court is of the opinion that the matter can be resolved through mediation. Retired Supreme Court Justice Kurian Joseph is appointed as the mediator. The parties will appear before Justice Kurian Joseph,” the bench said.

The court’s intervention comes more than three years after a public spat between two senior Karnataka officers culminated in mutual defamation proceedings and claims for ₹1 crore in damages.

In February, the Karnataka High Court dismissed Ms. Sindhuri’s petition challenging the criminal defamation proceedings initiated on the basis of a complaint filed by Ms. Moudgil. The High Court upheld the trial court’s order, which took cognizance of Ms Moudgil’s complaint, noting that it was “careful and exhaustive” and did not warrant intervention.

Earlier, the apex court ordered Ms Moudgil to remove social media posts related to Ms Sindhuri after a previous attempt at mediation failed.

“I have removed the posts/statements regarding the respondent from my Facebook/social media account profile,” Ms Moudgil said in an affidavit filed in court. “Although the respondent only objected to some of my specific posts in her complaint, in view of the opinion of this honorable court, I have withdrawn all posts with respect to the respondent,” the affidavit states.

According to Ms. Sindhuri, Ms. Moudgil shared photos, made allegations on social media and issued statements to the media questioning her personal and professional conduct with the intent to damage her reputation among colleagues and the public. The complaint was filed under Section 500 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) dealing with defamation and sought damages of ₹1 million.

The dispute first became public in 2023 after Ms Moudgil made a series of allegations against Ms Sindhuri. The IAS officer denied the allegations and accused the IPS officer of running a false and personal smear campaign. She also demanded an unconditional written apology and damages of ₹1 million for the alleged loss of reputation and mental anguish caused by the statements.

Published – 12 Jun 2026 21:07 IST