Urdu official in dock over illegal stint

A top bureaucrat in charge of the government's flagship Urdu promotion body is in the dock, with the Delhi high court asking the government to fire him for overstaying in his post, ignoring its earlier order and also calling for a CBI corruption probe against him to be finished in 10 weeks. Zia Haq reports.

A top bureaucrat in charge of the government's flagship Urdu promotion body is in the dock, with the Delhi high court asking the government to fire him for overstaying in his post, ignoring its earlier order and also calling for a CBI corruption probe against him to be finished in 10 weeks.

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Since Hamidullah Bhat, director of the National Council for Promotion of Urdu Language, continued in his post without securing any legal relief, the HC is also due to hear a case of disregarding its order.

Seeking a review of the order, Bhat had said he was entitled to continue till he attained 60 years, but the court had struck his plea down, saying his appointment was on special conditions and therefore he had to step down on turning 58.

Bhat declined to comment on the issue. Charges against Bhat include running his institution like a fief and taking inappropriate decisions as director of the top Urdu institution.

An earlier committee appointed by the HRD ministry to look into his functioning chided Bhat for being "given a lucrative permanent job quite in disproportion to his qualification" and questioned his decision to spend "maximum amount for bulk purchase of a book" on former minister Murli Manohar Joshi.