The Fact News Service
Chandigarh, April 27
Haryana Government has posted Ashwani Guptaas Chief Vigilance Officer- CVO (Chief Vigilance Officer) in Haryana Urban Development Authority (HSVP), formerly known as HUDA.He became IAS officer from non-HCS (non-Haryana Civil Service) quota in January this year, Prior to this, Gupta was posted as Additional Managing Director in Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (HSIIDC) since last February.
Meanwhile, Hemant Kumar, an advocate in Punjab and Haryana High Co urt and an expert on administrative matters, said that in March this year, Gupta was allotted the 2011 batch of IAS by the Central Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT). Prior to that, Gupta was appointed to the IAS by the Central Government on 23 January.
Hemant said that the interesting thing is that in February this year, through an order issued under the signature of the then Chief Secretary of the state, Sanjeev Kaushal, a retired officer Shashi Kant Sharma, who was engaged on contract basis as Chief Vigilance Officer-CVO in the Vigilance Department of the state in November last year, 2023, was also made Chief Vigilance Officer (CVO) in a total of eight government departments / boards including Haryana Urban Development Authority (HSVP).
At present it is not clear whether Shashi Kant Sharma will be relieved of his responsibilities after Ashwani Malik, IAS is appointed as CVO in HSVP or both will continue as CVOs. Whatever it is, posting 2011 batch Haryana cadre IAS Ashwani Gupta to a post on which a retired non-IS officer is already posted is not appropriate.
It may be noted that along with Sharma, 7 other retired officers – Mahavir Singh, Rajendra Kumar Malik, Ashok Kumar Sharma, Rameshwar Mehra, Sanjeev Kumar Jain, Satish Kumar Jain, and Jarnail Singh Boparai and three non-IS and non-HCS Deepak Bora, Dinesh Rathi and Krishna Kumar have also been appointed as CVOs on contract basis, each of whom has charge of several government departments/boards etc.
However, Gupta, whose date of birth is 11 August 1964, retired from the service of Haryana Government as Additional Director in the Industries and Commerce Department of Haryana on 31 August 2022, nearly two years ago, on attaining the age of 58 years, as a result of which the Central Government had clarified in the order regarding Gupta’s appointment in IAS that the period from October, 2022 (i.e. from the time when four other non-HCS officers of Haryana Government were appointed in IAS from non-HCS quota) to the order regarding Gupta’s appointment in IAS, i.e. 23 January, 2024, will be considered as Gupta’s service period in IAS, although in this regard the State Government will have to obtain a vigilance clearance report regarding Gupta’s clean and unblemished character during the said period. Since Gupta will complete the age of 60 years in August 2024, his service as an IAS officer will remain for about four more months i.e. till 31 August 2024, the day he will retire from IAS.
Hemant further informed that Gupta has been appointed in IAS by the Central Government on the basis of an order given by the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT), Chandigarh Bench on 15 December 2023. In fact, in October 2022, when the selection process for five IAS vacancies (Select List 2019) from non-HCS quota from Haryana, which started in the year 2020, Gupta’s name was included at number 1 in the list of final selected candidates, while the other four included the names of Dr. Vivek Bharti, Dr. Harish Kumar Vashisht, Dr. Jinder Singh Chhillar and Dr. Brahmjit Singh Rangi.
Except Gupta, the other four were appointed to the IAS on 25 October 2022, whereas Gupta was not appointed to the IAS because he had retired from the service of the Haryana Government on 31 August 2022. However, after this, Gupta first filed an application, writ petition etc. in CAT, Chandigarh Bench, then the High Court, then the Central Government and finally again in CAT, Chandigarh, requesting to appoint him to the IAS because he argued that he cannot be held responsible for the excessive delay in the selection process in the IS from the non-HCS quota and when his name has been included at the first number in the list of five final selected candidates for 5 vacancies of IAS from the non-HCS quota in the Select List 2019, therefore he has a legal right to appointment in the IAS, which was accepted by the CAT, Chandigarh Bench.
However, since Gupta has been deemed to have been appointed in the IAS from October, 2022, along with four other non-HCS officers, namely, Dr Vivek Bharti, Dr Harish Kumar Vashisht, Dr Jinder Singh Chhillar and Dr Brahmjeet Singh Rangi, he will be entitled to all the benefits like them from the same retrospective date.
