Reinstated Delhi bureaucrat, earlier divested by minister Bharadwaj, orders checks to ascertain ‘tampering’ of files

On Monday, special vigilance secretary YVVJ Rajasekhar was reinstated by the Delhi directorate of vigilance, which cited a central ordinance to bring him back.

The Centre’s ordinance curbing the Delhi government’s power over the Capital’s services department has pitted many of the city’s top officers against its elected administration, with reinstated vigilance special secretary YVVJ Rajasekhar holding meetings in the state secretariat and ordering checks of files in his office, even as the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) called him an “illegal occupant” of the position.

On May 13, Delhi services minister Saurabh Bharadwaj (pictured here) relieved the official of all duties, citing allegations of corruption and extortion.

Rajasekhar has been in the eye of a major storm since May 13, when services minister Saurabh Bharadwaj divested him of all duties, citing allegations of corruption and extortion. The officer rejected the claims and alleged that some of his files “were photocopied by unknown people”, shortly after he was shunted. He was eventually reinstated on Monday, days after the Union government issued an ordinance essentially overturning a Supreme Court judgment that gave the elected Delhi administration power over the city’s bureaucratic machinery.

On Wednesday, Rajasekhar worked out of his office in the Delhi secretariat and met vigilance officers, directing them to prepare an inventory of records to ascertain if they were tampered with in his absence.

An officer aware of the matter said the Centre’s ordinance had “restored in the city’s bureaucratic machinery the status quo that existed before the top court’s May 11 order.” “The power over the control of officers in Delhi seems to be resting with the LG after the central government promulgated the ordinance,” the bureaucrat said, requesting anonymity.

Another bureaucrat, who also did not want to be named, said there is a lack of clarity about whether the elected government has the power to control officers, or the LG.

“The ordinance places transfer posting powers under the LG, which has to be done through the national capital civil services authority, which is largely conceptualised as a recomendary body where the CM, despite being its chairman, is in minority. My interpretation of the ordinance is that it is silent about allocation of work, so I believe the elected government has power over allocation of work among officers,” said the official.

It was not immediately clear if officers found any errors or any evidence of tampering of the records. “The files are huge. Some of them have hundreds of pages, all containing information related to sensitive cases. A reconciliation of the records has been started and will be completed in a couple of days,” said the first official.

Bharadwaj, who also holds the services portfolio, on Wednesday doubled down on his position, terming Rajasekhar’s reinstatement “illegal and unauthorised.”

“The Supreme Court has twice ruled that the Delhi government has power over all subjects except three — land, public and public order — and the power of services has always been with the Delhi government,” he said during a press conference.

“The central government cannot take away the power,” he added.

Rajasekhar did not respond to HT’s requests for comment. HT also reached out to the LG’s office, but officials did not respond to queries for a comment on the development.

Bharadwaj, in an order on Tuesday, said he is the competent authority to allocate work among officers in the department.