IAS officer Rohini Sindhuri transferred yet again

Assigned to new post before completing two-year term as DC of Hassan

IAS officer Rohini Sindhuri, who won a legal battle challenging her premature transfer as Hassan Deputy Commissioner, has been transferred once again before completing her two-year term in the district. Hers is one among a slew of transfers of IAS and IPS officers that the State government has carried out before the Lok Sabha elections.

In a notification issued on Friday, Ms. Sindhuri has been posted as Secretary, Karnataka Building and Construction Workers’ Welfare Board, in Bengaluru. Akram Pasha, who was Director at the Directorate of Minorities, has been posted as Hassan Deputy Commissioner. He took charge minutes after the transfer order was issued. When he reached the office in Hassan around 4.30 p.m., Ms. Sindhuri had already left the office.

Ms. Sindhuri, 2009 batchIAS officer, was posted to Hassan on July 14, 2017. Following pressure from Congress leaders, including the then Minister of the district, A. Manju, the Congress government transferred her in January 2018, even before she could complete six months in the post. However, she was able to retain the post as the Election Commission stalled the transfer citing pending voters’ list verification. The officer’s transfer had attracted criticism from political parties. Both the JD(S) and BJP had opposed it. JD(S) national president H.D. Deve Gowda had also strongly condemned the transfer.

The government transferred her again, appointing D. Randeep in her place. But she moved the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) and got her transfer stayed. CAT, in April 2018, upheld the transfer allowing Mr. Randeep to take charge. But, he could not continue in the post beyond a week, as the Election Commission sought his transfer, prompting the State government to post P.C. Jaffer in his place.

Ms. Sindhuri moved the Karnataka High Court against the CAT order and succeeded in retaining the post after the H.D. Kumaraswamy-led coalition government made a submission before the court stating that she would be posted to Hassan. Hence, she took charge on June 25, after a legal battle.

All along, she had argued that IAS officers should get a minimum of two years in a posting as per the Supreme Court’s judgment in the Prakash Singh and others vs Union of India case. The transfers should be done as per the recommendations of the board of civil services. She said premature transfers would disappoint the officers, who had set certain goals of achievement in terms of development works or streamlining the system. It is not clear whether she will challenge the transfer this time. When

The Hindu tried to contact her, she was not available for comment.

MLA’s reaction

Meanwhile, BJP MLA Preetham Gowda said her transfer showed the double standards of the JD(S) — it had opposed her transfer when the Congress government carried it out last year, but the same leaders have notified her transfer today. He said the transfer had also raised doubts on whether JD(S) leaders were upset over the officer’s action against illegal storage of sand in Sakleshpur.