9 June :Terming the transfer of IAS and IPS officers in UP as a "serious matter", the Supreme Court on Monday sought an explanation from the state government on the allegation that CM Mayawati was resorting to arbitary shift of the officers following her party’s poor show in the elections.
A vacation bench of Justices B Sudershan Reddy and Aftab Alam said the issue was serious and needs to be examined at length."We appreciate your efforts. The matter is serious. It needs consideration," the bench told the petitioners Satya Narain Shukla and Prakash Singh both retired civil servants who jointly filed a PIL on the issue.
In their petition, two retired civil servants said recent transfers effected by Mayawati after the party lost the elections involved a larger issue of political influence on the bureacracy and its functional independence.
"After the declaration of results of Lok Sabha elections, the state government had resorted to politically motivated transfers of IAS and IPS officers due to dismal show of the ruling party," the petition said.
According to the petition, while one senior IAS officer Dinesh Singh had been demoted to a secretary-level post from a principal secretary post, an IPS officer Ajay Kumar Misra, SP Mainipuri, had been suspended after he failed to initiate action against former Chief Minister Mulayam Singh at the behest of the ruling dispensation.