Services secretary has fallen in line says bharadwaj chief secy calls board meeting

Services secretary has fallen in line says bharadwaj chief secy calls board meeting

Department Secretary has agreed to move file for his replacement, says Services Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj; apex court’s May 11 judgment came into force with ‘immediate effect’, says Law Minister in a letter, adds that any official not adhering to the SC order shall be held ‘liable for contempt’.

THE HINDU BUREAU NEW DELHI

In a development that marks a minor victory for the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Services Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj on Monday said the Department Secretary, Ashish More, “fell in line” after being issued a show-cause notice and has agreed to move the file to initiate his replacement.

The Minister had accused Mr. More of going incommunicado after being told to move a file seeking his replacement hours after the Supreme Court’s May 11 verdict, which declared that the Delhi government had both legislative and executive powers over the ‘services’ except those related to public order, police and land in the national capital.

On May 13, Mr. Bharadwaj served a show-cause notice to the Secretary asking why disciplinary proceedings should not be initiated against him and sought his response within 24 hours, a source in the Chief Minister’s Office said.

Later on Monday, the Minister issued a statement saying that the “absconding” Secretary had fallen in line, “agreed to abide by the Supreme Court order” and move the file to appoint a new Secretary.

The Delhi government also moved the Supreme Court, accusing the Centre of not implementing the order to transfer the Services Secretary, which the court has agreed to list this week.

It is unclear whether any action was taken against Mr. More.

In another significant development, Law Minister Kailash Gahlot, in an official communication to the Services Minister, said that the apex court’s May 11 judgment came into force with “immediate effect” and that any official not adhering to the order shall be held “liable for contempt”, sources said on Monday.

The Services Department had earlier sought legal opinion from the Law Department on the matter.

CSB meeting

Meanwhile, the Chief Secretary has called a meeting of the Civil Services Board (CSB) on Tuesday over the transfer orders issued by Mr. Bharadwaj, sources said.

This will be the first meeting of the CSB after the Supreme Court judgment.

The meeting will be held even as officials in the Delhi government are divided on the implementation of the Supreme Court judgment, with some referring to a notification issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on May 21, 2015, giving the Lieutenant-Governor control over “matters pertaining to public order, police, land and services”.

Till the MHA issues a new notification or amends the 2015 notification, services will still be presumed to be under the ambit of the Centre, say some.

“Even without a fresh notification from the MHA, the Supreme Court’s judgment can be implemented. There are ways to do it,” another bureaucrat said.

The MHA did not respond to queries on changes to its 2015 notification.