NEWSLINKS US EDITION SOUTH ASIA COLUMNISTS DIARY SPECIALS INTERVIEWS CAPITAL BUZZ REDIFF POLL THE STATES ELECTIONS ARCHIVES US ARCHIVES SEARCH REDIFF
N Sathiya Moorthy in Madras
The Centre has denied any role of Union Ministers Murasoli Maran and T R Baalu, in the decision to seek the services of three Indian Police Service officers from Tamil Nadu.
"The Union government did not act on their instigation. Instead, the decision was arrived at only for reasons based on their service profiles, experience and the nature of sensitive assignments earmarked for them," the Centre said in its counter-affidavit filed before the Madras bench of the Central Administrative Tribunal, hearing the case.
The Bench, comprising the vice-chairman, S S Subramanian and the Administrative Member, Bapu, then posted the case for September 17, after Maran and Baalu, who have also been named respondents in the case, sought time for filing their counters.
With the result, the indications are that the Centre may not decide on transferring the three officials, namely, the Madras Police Commissioner, K Muthukaruppan, the Joint Commissioner, S George, and the Deputy Commissioner, Christopher Nelson, until their petitions have been discharged by the tribunal bench.
In its counter, the Centre also took exception to the three officials basing their petitions on fax messages, which were inter-governmental communication in nature.
"It is wholly irregular and improper, the whole exercise lacks bonafide," the Centre said, adding that the officials concerned could have challenged their transfer only if they had actually been relieved by the state government.
"If anything, till date, the Union government has not passed any order directing the officers to join the central government," it added.
In this context, the Centre also submitted that the officials had alternative remedy in the form of representation to the Centre, through the state government.
"That is, even assuming that a fax message of the kind was an order," the counter-affidavit read.
Charging the officers with attempting to preempt any order of transfer by taking umbrage under the Tribunal Act, the counter-affidavit wanted the bench to dismiss the petitions.
In its counter, instead, the Tamil Nadu Government alleged that the Centre's decision was purely punitive in nature, and aimed at punishing them indirectly by causing them undue hardship.
"Even the State IPS Officers Association had strongly condemned the Centre's action," the state government said.
It asserted that the presence of the three officials in the state was necessary in view of the ongoing proceedings before the Justice A Raman Commission of Inquiry, which is probing the arrest of the former Chief Minister, M Karunanidhi, and the attendant incidents of June 30.
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