Senior IAS officer Mohammed Mohsin, whose suspension by the Election Commission was stayed by the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) on Thursday, has expressed distress over still not having access to the report given by the Sambalpur district administration to the EC.
The Election Commission, on April 16, ordered suspension of Mr. Mohsin, who had been posted as general observer for Sambalpur Lok Sabha constituency in Odisha, after election officials conducted a “search” and videographed landing of the helicopter in which Prime Minister Narendra Modi travelled to the constituency.
Repeated attempts
“Despite repeated attempts to seek a copy of the report from the district administration as well as the Election Commission, I still do not have access to it. I do not know its content too,” Mr. Mohsin told The Hindu on Friday. “Suspension may have happened on the spur of the moment. But as part of principles of natural justice, I need to know the reason for my suspension. The report has been sent by them (Sambalpur district administration),” he added.
The officer, who is the Secretary in the Department of Backward Classes Welfare, said, “I need to know who has complained and what has been the allegation. I have made three written requests to serve me the copy of the report, but I am yet to hear from them. The report has not reached me despite contacting the Superintendent of Police and the Deputy Commissioner (of Sambalpur), and the Chief Electoral Officer of Odisha.” He said he had also written to the Deputy Chief Election Commissioner seeking a copy of the report.
‘Feeling humiliated’
The 1996 IAS batch officer of Karnataka cadre, Mr. Mohsin said, “I am feeling humiliated and tortured. In fact, for the first 24 hours, I had not shared the news with my family too.” He said, “In over two decades of being an officer, I have not even once been served a show-cause notice. I do my duty to the best of my knowledge.”
Reiterating that he was not at the spot when the Prime Minister’s helicopter was “checked”, he said, “I visited the place, but was not present when the incident took place. I left the venue after seeing officials involved in implementation of the model code of conduct.” Mr. Mohsin said he would never break rules, and always worked as per rules.
Meanwhile, when asked if he would approach the court to seek recourse over the Election Commission barring him from election -related duty, the senior bureaucrat said he would consult his lawyers to take a call on future action. “The matter is coming up for hearing on May 3. They (the district administration) also have to submit the report. Let us see. I will consult my lawyers.”
