MADURAI: Expressing serious concern over long pendency of disciplinary proceedings before various tribunals across Tamil Nadu, the Madurai Bench of Madras High Court has opined that the state government ought to appoint a separate Vigilance Commissioner to monitor these tribunals, instead of making a senior IAS officer hold the post as additional charge.
Justice B Pugalendhi made the suggestion recently while hearing a batch of petitions filed by several government officers seeking direction to expedite disciplinary proceedings pending against them in various tribunals.
During the course of the hearing, the judge noted that though a GO passed by the human resources management department on August 4, 2022, prescribed specific time limits for each stage of the proceedings, the inquiry against one of the petitioners, who was an assistant engineer of a panchayat union, has been pending for over a decade.
Similar grievances were raised by other petitioners too, the judge observed and called for a report from the government containing data of pending cases before the tribunals.
The report furnished by the government counsel revealed that there are 27 disciplinary inquiries pending in the tribunals for more than five years, eight inquiries are pending for more than four years and 34 inquiries are pending for more than three years, the judge noted and opined that priority should be given to these old cases.
“A separate Vigilance Commissioner is the need of this hour to monitor the vigilance cases effectively. However, there is no regular or permanent Vigilance Commissioner in the state and a senior officer heading the major and sensitive department is holding the post of Vigilance Commissioner as an additional post.
The Government, which aims for corruption free governance, in the opinion of this court, should have an independent Vigilance Commissioner, wholly concentrating on the Vigilance Commission’s functioning,” the judge observed.
Corruption is deep-rooted everywhere and can be eradicated only by dedicated and consistent action. That can be achieved only by strengthening the Vigilance Commission and the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Department, he further said and disposed of the petitions.