NEW DELHI: Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena has recommended the Union home ministry to initiate disciplinary proceedings against IAS officer and former Delhi Waqf Board CEO SM Ali for allowing “illegal” resolutions of the board, while serving as the board’s CEO under the direction of its former chairman and AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan, sources said on Monday.
The L-G has recommended disciplinary proceedings under Rule 16 of the CCS (CCA), Rules 1965, they said. Ali, during his stint as the board’s CEO, is accused of indulging in acts of “omission and commission”, including his non-opposition to “illegal” resolutions for the appointment of the CEO and several other contractual staff, they said.
In the ongoing probe by the CBI against Khan, it was revealed that Ali executed the “illegal” resolution passed by the board for Mehboob Alam’s appointment as CEO, and also formally handed over the charge to him as his successor, they said. They added that an advertisement published for the post of CEO was in violation of the Delhi Waqf Act and Rules. It also formed the basis for appointing other staff on a contractual basis, the sources said.
The board not only gave ex-post facto approval to the “illegal” advertisement but also approved the “illegal” appointment of Alam as its CEO on the basis of the advertisement, the sources said. “Being the CEO, it was Ali’s duty to object to the illegal resolution passed by the board. It was his duty to ascertain, if the order or resolution passed by the board was in accordance with law/rules, before implementing such orders before the board for its reconsideration,” a senior official said. In September, the Delhi Anti-Corruption Branch detained Khan in connection with irregularities discovered in the Delhi Waqf Board. On September 28, he was granted bail.