Bangalore: Slamming as "vindicative" the Uttar Pradesh government`s step to suspend IAS officer Durga Shakti Nagpal, former Supreme Court Judge N Santosh Hegde on Monday suggested taking away the power of transfer of bureaucrats from elected representatives.
"I find it as really a vindicative act on part of the Uttar Pradesh government. The obvious reason is entirely different from the one now projected that is trying to bring down the harmony between the two community.”
"Take away the power of transfer from elected representatives, give it to bureaucracy itself and lay down the rules," Hegde said.
Anybody aggrieved by his or her transfer, can go to administrative tribunal if necessary, he said.
"Why should elected representatives must have these power. I have known MLAs asking `give me this police officer, give me this engineer like that`. That only shows that they are asking for officers to work under them," Hegde said.
Reacting on Nagpal`s suspension, Andhra Pradesh IAS officer`s association said the rules of law were not followed in Nagpal`s transfer.
"The way in which the young Sub Divisional Magistrate has been treated is something a cause of concern for us...What we feel is that the rule of law is not followed," said J Raymond Peter, Secretary of the association.
Nagpal, a 2010 batch IAS officer of Uttar Pradesh cadre, was suspended for ostensibly ordering demolition of the wall of an under-construction mosque without following the due process.
Her suspension has evoked sharp reaction from opposition parties, including BJP and BSP, which alleged that Nagpal, who was working as Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) in the Gautam Budh Nagar area of the state, was removed after her crackdown against the sand mafia operating in the area under her jurisdiction.
PTI
