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Government set to move apex court
THE INTER-CORPORATE Deposit (ICD) controversy is refusing to die. While former chief minister Digvijay Singh says it is wrong to call it a scam, the State Government is all set to take up the matter to the apex court as promised by Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.
THE INTER-CORPORATE Deposit (ICD) controversy is refusing to die. While former chief minister Digvijay Singh says it is wrong to call it a scam, the State Government is all set to take up the matter to the apex court as promised by Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.
The move is unprecedented in the sense that the government is filing SLP against its own affidavit in the High Court. According to highly placed sources, the State Government has also decided to seek an explanation from the former chief secretary Vijay Singh in the wake of the replies obtained from the removed GAD Principal Secretary Abha Asthana and deputy secretary Subhash Daphene.
If needed, the Government may issue charge sheet against Vijay Singh, who is now Secretary, Indian Medicine Systems, in the Government of India.
This is rare instance when a charge sheet is being contemplated against a chief secretary. Vijay Singh has been accused of concealing information about FIR against IAS officer S R Mohanty while writing letters to Department of Personnel and Training (DOPT).
The Law Department has approved filing of a Special Leave Petition (SLP) in the matter to Supreme Court, challenging the High Court order of the last month.
Principal Secretary, Law, P P Tiwari confirmed this and added a draft of the SLP is in final stage of preparation.
Meanwhile, Economic Offences Wing (EOW) officials, who had gone to Delhi recently, hired a leading lawyer of the country, Gopal Subramaniyam for this case.
This issue flared up recently after the State Government filed an affidavit in the High Court, keeping Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan in the dark. This triggered massive row, leading to removal of Vijay Singh as chief secretary.
Show cause notices were also issued to the then Principal Secretary, GAD, Abha Asthana and deputy secretary, Subhash Daphene on the issue.
In their replies the two officers pointed a finger towards the then chief secretary. While Abha Asthana is learnt to have mentioned that she had prepared affidavit on the basis of records available at that point of time, Daphene categorically mentioned that he played no role in preparing the affidavit.
“The draft of affidavit was sent to me for signature only. In fact I was not allowed to apply my mind at any stage of preparation of draft,” he mentioned in his reply.
Sources in GAD told the Hindustan Times that Asthana in her reply gave sufficient hints that the affidavit prepared by her was based on a couple of letters written by the then Chief Secretary to GoI.
In one of the letters dated May 31, Vijay Singh had written to the GoI that “Mohanty is clear from vigilance angle and no departmental action is contemplated against him. His integrity is certified and it is recommended that his name be retained for deputation to Government of India”.
