Sandwiched between the Delhi Assembly Speaker and All India Radio in a repatriation row, Assembly Secretary Prasanna Kumar Suryadevara on Tuesday moved the Delhi High Court urging that the ex-parte disciplinary proceedings initiated against him, for not joining back AIR and for writing an article in a newspaper, be dropped.
The petition was mentioned before a Bench headed by Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal. Mr Suryadevara sought dropping of disciplinary proceedings initiated against him saying the same were against the Service rules. He said the proceedings against him was also violative of many procedures and he cannot be held to be on unauthorised absence while serving as Secretary in the Legislative Assembly.
Separate plea
The officer has moved the court after a single judge, during the hearing on a petition moved by Assembly Speaker Ram Niwas Goel early this month, remarked that the officer can file a separate plea if he is aggrieved by the disciplinary proceedings and the Speaker cannot fight his battle.
The AIR has initiated ex-parte disciplinary proceedings against him for unauthorised absence after being told to join back and for writing an article — ‘Neither Office, Nor Profit’. It is to be noted that the Assembly Speaker, Mr. Goel, moved high court early this year challenging former Lieutenant-Governor Najeeb Jung’s order repatriating Mr Suryadevara, an officer belonging to Newsreader-cum-Translator (Telugu) cadre, to All India Radio (AIR), his parent organisation.
Mr. Goel, in his petition, had contended that the L-G cannot repatriate the officer without his agreement, while also challenging the memorandums issued by AIR to Prasanna Kumar directing him to join his parent organisation immediately, failing which his absence would be treated as “unauthorised”.
Single Judge Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva had told the Speaker and the AIR to resolve the matter amicably while also directing the government to see if the new L-G Anil Baijal would want to review the order of his repatriation.
However, a meeting failed to resolve the matter. When the Speaker moved an application for dropping of disciplinary proceedings aginst him, Suryadevara was deputed to the Delhi Assembly for a year after which the then L-G Najeeb Jung had ordered relieving him.
