AP govt moves Centre against Nimmagadda

[Anta Assamey]

The proceedings issued by controversial Andhra Pradesh state election commissioner Nimmagadda Ramesh Kumar censuring two senior IAS officers and recommending to the central department of personnel and training asking for their compulsory retirement has snowballed into further controversy.

Within hours of censuring panchayat raj principal secretary Gopal Krishna Dwivedi and commissioner M Girija Shankar on the charges of not updating the gram panchayat electoral rolls as on January 1, Nimmagadda wrote yet another derogatory letter to the Centre asking for the compulsory retirement of the two officials.

On Thursday, chief secretary Adityanath Das write a letter to the secretary, department of personnel and training, stating that Nimmagadda had censured the two IAS officers without following the due procedure prescribed under All India Service Rules.

Similarly, the move of SEC to seek the compulsory retirement of Dwivedi and Girija Shankar also did not fall under his competence and suffered from jurisdictional error.

The chief secretary said the disciplinary proceedings against IAS officers should have to be dealt with under AIS (D&A) Rules, 1969. Censure is a penalty classified under minor penalties and the State Government is the competent authority to impose the said penalty on a Member of Service serving with the affairs of the State and it has to be imposed by following the procedure laid down under rule 10 of the said rules.

As such, the SEC is not competent to administer censure against two IAS officers. 

“It is beyond his jurisdiction and is nothing but transgressing into the powers vested with the State government. Any instrument issued without competency is legal and bad in law,” Das said and requested that the Centre strike down the SEC orders.

He asked the Centre to enlighten Nimmagadda and advise him not to exercise the power which is not is his domain and adhere to the guidelines in the matter.

[Anta Assamey]