Lucknow, July 02: Chief Minister Mayawati’s attempt to bypass the opposition and foist a tainted bureaucrat as the Chief Information Commissioner has created turmoil leading to the High Court issuing a notice to the government.
Recently Mining Secretary Ranjeet Singh Pankaj was handpicked by the government. However, when a PIL was filed in the Lucknow Bench of Allahabad High Court on Monday he was hurriedly administered oath of office by Cabinet Secretary Shashank Shekhar Singh instead of the Governor.
When she decided to appoint Pankaj as CIC, leader of Opposition Shivpal Yadav refused to put his seal of approval saying the government, contrary to the practice and provisions of RTI Act did not send a panel of names along with their bio-data. The Chief Minister on her part ignored such a plea and cleared Pankaj’s name and got it approved by Governor TV Rajeswar.
But before Pankaj, a promotee IAS officer [a 1992 batch Dalit officer] could take oath of office two lawyers Himanshu Shekhar Awasthi and IP Singh, both junior to Virendra Bhatia, former Advocate General and Samajvadi Party member of Rajya Sabha challenged in the Lucknow bench of Allahabad High Court the legality of the appointment on the ground that not only opposition was not consulted but the officer has a tainted background. This makes him unfit to hold such an important constitutional post.
Pankaj as District Magistrate of Gorakhpur was allegedly involved in the scam relating to illegal appointment of 3000 Safai Karamcharis. Later, these appointments were quashed after an inquiry found the allegation to be true.
The petition said that he [Pankaj], was having political relations thoroughly particularly with the ruling party. His antecedents and his political links make the appointment absolutely illegal and void ab initio, said the petition.
The post was lying vacant for past eight months after the retirement of Justice [Retired] MA Khan, another controversial character, who was removed by Mayawati following several allegations. Earlier, the Governor had turned down the state government’s recommendation for the appointment as CIC a retired IAS officer Ram Kumar on the ground that he was allegedly involved in a number of scams and facing corruption charges. Raj Bhawan had found that “Kumar was not only found to be involved in financial bungling but was also forced to retire on that account”. [The former bureaucrat, however, got some relief from the public services tribunal, following which his services were restored just prior to his retirement.].
–Agencies