Nainital, Oct 6 The Uttarakhand High Court has sought a reply from the Centre and the state government on a PIL alleging violations in transfers and postings of All India Services officers in the state for more than 12 years.
The court on Monday directed the Centre and the state government to file counter affidavits within two weeks.
According to the litigation filed by Bageshwar-based social activist Pankaj Pandey of Nagrik Manch, following the Supreme Court’s 2013 judgment in T S R Subramanian vs Union of India, cadre rules were amended in 2014 to provide for Civil Services Boards (CSBs) and a minimum tenure of two years for officers.
Citing information obtained under the RTI Act, the petitioner alleged that hundreds of IAS officers’ transfers in Uttarakhand were made without the CSB process and often on oral directions followed by ex post facto approval.
It further alleges that the two-year minimum tenure requirement was frequently violated and that no quarterly reports on premature transfers were sent to the Centre.
The petition also points to frequent reshuffles at the district level, claiming that Bageshwar alone has seen five District Magistrates and five Superintendents of Police in four years.
It was said that such frequent transfers adversely affect development work and law and order.
The PIL has also raised concerns over scrutiny of property returns filed by All India Services officers, alleging that the process has effectively become a clerical formality despite powers available to the Centre and state under Rule 16(5) of the All India Services (Conduct) Rules, 1968.
