The Centre has decided not to intervene in the matter of suspended IAS officer Durga Sakthi Nagpal, which has triggered a controversy, as no appeal has been made by her to challenge the suspension by the Uttar Pradesh government.
Ms. Nagpal, who had cracked down on sand mining mafia in Gautam Budh Nagar district of Uttar Pradesh, was suspended on July 27, 2013 ostensibly for ordering demolition of a wall of a local under-construction mosque allegedly without following the due process.
“The officer has not made any appeal with the Centre. Hence, the central government will not intervene in the matter. It will, however, make sure that the entire disciplinary procedure is followed as per rules,” a senior official of the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) said.
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He said that Ms. Nagpal has already sent her reply to a charge sheet issued by the U.P. administration.
Following Ms. Nagpal’s suspension, the Centre had issued three reminders to the U.P. government seeking a detailed report.
The State government had on August 4, 2013 sent a report on Ms. Nagpal’s suspension to the DoPT and also served a charge sheet to her seeking response over her action deemed as unwarranted and in violation of rules.
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Ms. Nagpal, a 2010 batch IAS officer, had replied to the charge sheet on August 16, 2013 in which she is understood to have stated that she has not violated any rule and abided by directions of the Supreme Court.
According to Section (6A) of the All India Services (Discipline and Appeal) Rules 1969, a detailed report has to be forwarded to the Centre within 15 days of suspension of an officer.
“Where an order of suspension is made, or deemed to have been made, by the Government of a State under this rule, detailed report of the case shall be forwarded to the Central Government ordinarily within a period of 15 days of the date on which the member of the Service is suspended or is deemed to have been suspended, as the case may be,” it says.
An aggrieved officer may alternatively appeal to the Centre within a period of 45 days from the date of receiving the order of suspension, the rule says.
DoPT officials said they were overseeing the procedure being followed by the disciplinary authority (U.P. administration) in dealing with Ms. Nagpal’s reply to the charge sheet.
Meanwhile, representatives of three All India Services associations have demanded changes in rules to check abuse of power to transfer a civil servant by State governments.
The demand was made by representatives of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), the Indian Police Service (IPS) and the Indian Forest Service (IFoS) associations at a meeting with Secretary, DoPT S.K. Sarkar in New Delhi on Monday.
They also demanded that the powers of suspending an officer be taken back from the States and be delegated to the Centre.