IAS Rajendra Vijay, who was under suspension for around four months over charges of assets disproportionate to income, has been appointed as commissioner departmental enquiry.
People are raising question mark as to how an allegedly ‘tainted' officer can probe into integrity of another officer.
But this is not for the first time that an IAS officer facing corruption charges has been appointed as commissioner enquiry, which is however considered a cold storage posting.
Former IAS Ravi Shankar Srivastava held this post on four occasions
Former IAS Ravi Shankar Srivastava, who was placed under suspension between June 2024 and January 2010 on charges of illegal sale of government properties to private parties on receipt of bribes while serving as member of the state revenue board, had served on four occasions during his career – every time after being framed with corruption charges. Srivastava had been commissioner enquiries from September 2011-March 2015, from June 2016-April 2018, from March 2020-July 2020 and then from May 2022 till his retirement in September 2022.
Srivastava, a 1985 batch IAS officer, in fact retired as commissioner departmental enquiry in September 2022 when he was serving in the rank of additional chief secretary.
Srivastava was also accused of committing fraud in government's polio campaign while serving as director in the state medical and health department.
“So the basis that a tainted officer can't hold the position of commissioner departmental enquiry has not ground looking in past. Srivastava served on that post in Congress as well as BJP regime. So there was no political angle in the appointment,” said a senior IAS officer, who didn't want to be named.
There are few other officers also with chequered past who have occupied the position of commissioner departmental enquiry. The post has lost its relevance as state government used it as a shunting ground where officers are shunted irrespective of their background or performance record.
“This position is generally held by officers who fell out of favour in the current regime. So not so efficient officers are relegated on this post. There should not be any surprise if an officer put under suspension or APO is sent here,” the officer said.
Ram Kumar Kaushik is a seasoned journalist with over 25 years of experience across mediums. The architect of this news website, he is also a consultant with several media groups. He was formerly the group managing editor of ITV Network (NewsX, India News and The Sunday Guardian) and its digital products.
