‘Won’t be swayed by Vij’s suggestion against DSP’

CHANDIGARH: Almost a month after Haryana home minister Anil Vij ordered the suspension of the Hisar DSP for allegedly failing to act on his directions in a case, the Haryana government has made it clear that it would not be swayed by any recommendation made by Vij in this matter.

The Haryana government made an undertaking in this regard before the Punjab and Haryana high court in response to a petition filed by DSP Rohtash Singh, who had approached the HC after Vij ordered his suspension in a public grievance committee meeting held at Hisar on June 9.

Referring to a 2018 decision passed by the HC, in a case titled, ‘Saroj Bala and Another versus the State of Haryana,’ the Haryana government agreed to take action in the matter in view of the court orders passed in this case. Saroj Bala, district education officer in Karnal, and a clerk of her office were ordered to be suspended in a similar fashion by the then minister Naib Singh Saini at a public grievance committee meeting in May 2018. They had challenged the minister’s directions before the HC.

The Haryana government had at the time assured the high court that the competent authority would not be swayed by any recommendation of the Karnal district grievance committee, headed by Naib Singh Saini (the then minister). The court was also assured that the director would take an independent and uninfluenced decision.

During the hearing of the plea filed by DSP Rohtash Singh, both the petitioner DSP and the Haryana government agreed to take a decision in this case in view of Saroj Bala’s case.

“Keeping in view of the above said facts and circumstances and also the joint statement made by learned counsel for the parties, the present petition (filed by the DSP) is disposed of on the same terms,” observed Justice Vikash Bahl. The HC had already ordered the state government not to take any coercive action in view of Vij's recommendations.

In his plea, Rohtash Singh had sought directions to quash the communication dated June 9 written by the DC Hisar to the SP of the district to comply with the recommendations dated of the district public relations and grievance committee in which Vij had given directions to suspend the petitioner.

It was argued before the HC that the district public relations and grievance committee, Hisar, had no power to pass any administrative order or to make any recommendation.

Importantly, in several cases in the past, the HC had stayed most of the orders passed by the ministers in Haryana recommending suspension of officers while heading the public grievance committee meetings.