Dehradun: The Uttarakhand high court has expressed concern over the transfer of a forest officer to Rudraprayag district, observing that such actions should not be influenced by complaints from politicians.
A division bench of chief justice G. Narendar and justice Subhash Upadhyay made the remarks while hearing a petition on Wednesday filed by range forest officer of Nandprayag in Chamoli district Hemant Bisht, who has challenged his September 12 transfer order to Rudraprayag as stigmatic and arbitrary.
The bench questioned forest secretary C. Ravi Shankar, who said action against Bisht was taken due to lapses in work related to the forthcoming Nanda Devi Yatra, while a complaint by a Gram Pradhan was only “incidental.”
The court, however, in its order cautioned that if departmental actions were prompted by political complaints, “offices would remain vacant, with officers spending their time at the doorstep of the political class.”
The secretary admitted such a situation was “not desirable or welcome” and assured the court that the matter would be reviewed, with a report to be submitted.
Bisht’s counsel, Abhijay Negi and Snigdha Tiwari, argued that the officer was punished without being given a chance to present his case and that vested interests were misusing their influence in forest administration.
{{/usCountry}}Bisht’s counsel, Abhijay Negi and Snigdha Tiwari, argued that the officer was punished without being given a chance to present his case and that vested interests were misusing their influence in forest administration.
{{/usCountry}}The petition states that an inquiry order issued on August 27 and the subsequent transfer order amounted to a stigma on his professional record. “Nowhere has the investigation committee cared to ascertain the perspective of the petitioner at any stage before recommending his attachment in such a stigmatic way,” the plea said.
The petitioner further argued that the complaint against him was not supported by any affidavit, as required under a government order issued on June 23, 2010.
The court has fixed the next hearing for October 7, while exempting the forest secretary from personal appearance on subsequent dates.