The Central Administrative Tribunal on Tuesday directed the Kerala Chief Secretary to submit within 5 days the Vigilance status report of senior IPS officer Yogesh Gupta to the Union Ministry of Home Affairs.
The tribunal criticised the State government for a 5-month delay in forwarding the report, despite repeated reminders from the Centre, calling the inaction “not justifiable.”
Officer’s Grievance
Gupta, who holds the rank of Director General of Police, had approached CAT alleging that the delay was preventing his consideration for Director General-level posts earmarked under the Central Deputation Reserve.
He said that though the State Police Chief had forwarded all relevant data to the government as early as May 6, no further action was taken. Even a petition lodged on the Chief Minister’s grievance portal yielded no result, Gupta told the tribunal.
State’s Defence
The State government argued that Gupta was under inquiry for certain decisions taken during his tenure as Director of the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau, and therefore the Vigilance report could not be issued until the confidential probe concluded.
Tribunal’s Observations
Rejecting the State’s stand, the tribunal noted that the government had not disclosed even the “bare details” of the inquiry and described the reasoning as vague.
It also pointed out that a recent Vigilance report, prepared when Gupta and 2 other officers were shortlisted for the post of State Police Chief, had stated there was no pending inquiry against him.
“The pendency of an inquiry cannot be a reason for not forwarding the Vigilance status report, which is a mere factual report,” CAT observed, ordering the Chief Secretary to act within 5 days.
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