UP government in Catch-22 over suspension of Durga Nagpal

LUCKNOW: The UP government has been caught in a Catch-22 situation over the suspension of young IAS officer DurgaSakthiNagpal. With the Centre going more vocal with each passing day against the Akhilesh government's order, its think tank is burning midnight oil to find a way out of the crisis.

What is nagging the UP government is the provisions of the Indian Administrative Services (Discipline and Appeals) Rules (1962). The part II of the rules deals with suspension of IAS officers under Rule 3. Section (1) b (ii) of this rule provides for the situation that is identical to the Durga Nagpal case. It says in case of any conflict of opinion between the state and the Centre over the suspension of an IAS officer, the Central government's decision will prevail.

Now, the stance of the Central government is absolutely clear in Durga's case with the UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi writing to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to ensure that no injustice was meted out to her. Sources say, a section in the UP government was in favour of ending the controversy by August 12, when the Supreme Court was to hear a PIL on Nagpal's suspension. However, as the hearing go deferred till August 16, the state government is likely to come up with some damage-control exercise before the PIL is taken up.

Though a Centre-state clash over suspension of an IAS officer is not routine, in 2011, a similar situation came up when the then Mayawati government suspended a UP cadre IAS officer Promila Shankar for visiting Sri Lanka with her husband (also an IAS officer) without the consent of the state government. The reasons for suspension were set aside by the Centre and it declared the penal action against her as "ab initio null and void" (null and void from the start of the issue). The state government had no choice but to reinstate Promilla thereafter.

It may be mentioned here that in Promila's case, the Centre intervened only after the issue hit the headlines and the strong IAS lobby left nothing to chance to get her suspension revoked. What is different in Durga Nagpal's case is that apart from the media and the IAS lobby, it is the public outcry against her suspension that is sure to make an impact.

The social media has been flooded with appeals, demands and at times even veiled threats to those who were behind Durga Nagpal's suspension. The state government too is facing a lot of criticism for her suspension. "The pressure is increasing by the day and is likely to land the Akhilesh government in a tight spot," says a senior IAS officer.

The 28-year-old IAS officer was posted as SDM in Gautam Budh Nagar when she was suspended by the UP government on July 27, 2013 for ordering the razing of an under-construction boundary wall of a mosque coming up on gram sabha land. The government suspended her stating that her orders would have affected the communal harmony of the state adversely, but landed in a controversy following reports that she was suspended for her crackdown against the very strong sand mining mafia syndicate in the district.