Chief secretary KAP Sinha took strong exception to additional chief secretary (home) Alok Shekhar’s ‘unilateral decision’ to transfer a superintendent and reversed the order while issuing a stern reminder of administrative protocol.
Shooting off a letter to ACS (home), Sinha directed him to reinstate Jagdip Kapil, superintendent in the home department, immediately. HT has a copy of the letter.
The snub came after Shekhar, a 1993-batch IAS officer, had on May 23 relieved Kapil and directed him to report to the general administration department (GAD). Kapil complied and joined GAD the next day.
In the letter dated May 26, the chief secretary, who is from the 1992 batch, stated, “It is the prerogative of the chief secretary’s office to post superintendents in various departments in the civil secretariat. You are hereby asked to take back Kapil and post him to the same place. If you want to transfer him, you should send a proposal to the CS office, which will examine and take action.”
Talking to HT, Sinha said, “It’s the chief secretary’s office that has the authority to issue such transfers. If the ACS (home) had any issue with the employee concerned, he should have informed me in writing, and I would have taken appropriate action. However, exercising the powers of the chief secretary’s office unilaterally is not appropriate. Therefore, the orders were reversed to ensure that no wrong precedent is set,” said the chief secretary.
{{/usCountry}}Talking to HT, Sinha said, “It’s the chief secretary’s office that has the authority to issue such transfers. If the ACS (home) had any issue with the employee concerned, he should have informed me in writing, and I would have taken appropriate action. However, exercising the powers of the chief secretary’s office unilaterally is not appropriate. Therefore, the orders were reversed to ensure that no wrong precedent is set,” said the chief secretary.
{{/usCountry}}Kapil has been reinstated to his original post in the home department, reportedly against the preference of the ACS (home).
According to people privy to the matter, Shekhar was upset that the news of IPS officer SPS Parmar’s removal from the post of chief director, vigilance bureau, had reached the media before the formal order was issued. He had accused Kapil of misquoting service rules in the suspension order and delaying the mandatory communication to the Government of India — a key step when suspending an IPS officer. Later, Kapil corrected the suspension letter.
Parmar’s suspension was part of a broader crackdown on alleged corruption within the vigilance bureau. Parmar, along with two other senior officers, was suspended after a detailed review by the Punjab government, citing negligence and failure to act against corruption at the highest levels. However, the government took a u-turn and reinstated the two other officers suspended with Parmar, without any inquiry.
Despite these objections, the chief secretary reversed the Kapil’s transfer, reasserting the authority of his office over such postings. Sources say that ACS (home) Shekhar has reported the matter to political leadership. HT’s texts and calls to Shekhar for comments did not elicit any response.