In a major relief to bureaucrats who are vocal on social media platforms, Telangana high court dismissed a PIL seeking action against senior IAS officer Smita Sabharwal for her remarks on persons with disabilities (PWDs).
A bench of Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice J Sreenivas Rao refused to entertain the plea and rejected the PIL at the admission stage itself.
The PIL was filed by social activist Vasundhara Koppula, who contended that the IAS officer made uncharitable remarks against PWDs on her social media handle on July 21.
Smita posted her comment on her X handle in the backdrop of a controversial IAS trainee Puja Khedkar, who was subsequently sacked by the Centre for misusing the quota for disabled persons.
Petitioner's counsel CMR Velu said Smita's comments amount to criticising the policy of the govt which has given reservations to PWDs.
“Moreover, she cannot speak like a common citizen. As a bureaucrat, she is bound by the conduct rules of the All India Services officers,” he said.
“The comment made by the IAS officer does not fall under the definition of criticism against the govt,” the bench said.
Who is Smita Sabharwal?
A native of West Bengal, Smita is known to use latest developments in technology to her advantage, especially in implementing Government Programmes on field.
Monitoring of Government doctors through skype has completely changed the scenario in the public health sector.
Performance monitoring of Government schools through specially designed software has made Karimnagar & Medak Districts stand top in the state during her tenure.
The BuckStopper, run by a group of seasoned journalists, holds the powerful accountable. The buck stops with them, as they cannot shrug off their official responsibilities.
