VIJAYAWADA: Days after the State Election Commission (SEC) censured Panchayat Raj Principal Secretary Gopal Krishna Dwivedi and PR Commissioner M Girija Shankar for their 'failure' to publish 2021 electoral rolls, the State government wrote to the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) not to take cognisance of the proceedings issued by SEC Nimmagadda Ramesh Kumar against the two IAS officers.
In the censure proceedings, Ramesh Kumar recommended compulsory retirement of the two IAS officers. It also urged the DoPT to enlighten and advise SEC Ramesh Kumar not to exercise the power, which is not in his domain and adhere to the guidelines. "This step of the SEC does not fall under his competence," Chief Secretary Aditya Nath Das stated in the letter addressed to the Secretary of DoPT.
He said the SEC administered the censure against the two officers on the allegation of not updating the gram panchayat electoral rolls as on January 1, 2021, without following the due procedure prescribed under the All India Service (D&A) Rules, 1969.
As per the guidelines, the Election Commission is empowered to suspend any officer or police personnel working under the Central government or public sector undertaking or an autonomous body fully or partially funded by the government for insubordination or dereliction of duty, besides making recommendations to the competent authority for taking disciplinary action, while engaged in preparation of electoral rolls or election duty, the CS said.
Further, he said censure is a penalty classified under minor penalties and the State government is the competent authority to impose the said penalty on a member of service serving with the affairs of the State and it has to be imposed by following the procedure laid down under Rule 10 of the AIS (D&A) Rules, 1969.
"The proceedings issued by the SEC against the two IAS officers and to direct that the same form part of their service record is without competency and jurisdiction and nothing but transgressing into the powers vested in the State government. Any instrument issued without competence is illegal and bad in law," the Chief Secretary pointed out.
Informing that the State government had rejected the censure by issuing two separate GOs, the CS said the SEC’s communication to the DoPT 'suffers from infirmities in decision making process and infraction of law'. As stated earlier by the State government that it will come in support of the two IAS officers, the CS said that there has not been an iota of doubt regarding the conduct of officers during their past service.
SEC's action against service rules: Chief Secretary Aditya Nath Das
Chief Secretary Aditya Nath Das said that SEC N Ramesh Kumar administered the censure against the two officers for not updating the rolls as on January 1, 2021, without following the due procedure prescribed under the All India Service (D&A) Rules, 1969.
State government rejects SEC's censure of two officers
Informing that the State government had rejected the censure by issuing two separate GOs, CS Aditya Nath Das said the SEC’s communication to the DoPT ‘suffers from infirmities in decision making process
and infraction of law.’