Haryana put on notice as SDM moves HC against his suspension
HC SOUGHT RESPONSE BY OCT 11 ON SINGH’S PLEA BUT DID NOT STAY SUSPENSION ORDER
The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Friday put Haryana government on notice over suspension of sub-divisional magistrate (SDM), Kanina in Mahendargarh district.
SDM Sandeep Singh was suspended on October 1. Singh is the son of Bahadur Singh, the education minister of Haryana in the Om Prakash Chautala government. The high court has sought response from the government by October 11 on Singh’s petition but did not stay the suspension order. He has impleaded Mahendargarh deputy commissioner and minister of Industries Vipul Goel as parties in the case.
He has told court that he was suspended at the behest of Goel, who presided over a district grievance redressal committee meeting in Narnaul on September 20 since his father was an opposition leader. Singh has also filed a criminal defamation case against Goel for making alleged derogatory remarks against him and his father during the September 20 meeting.
He told court that due to his father’s illness he was on leave since September 14, and did not get the agenda for the September 20 meeting. Further, there was also no item in the agenda pertaining to duties performed by him nor he was intimated about the meeting, he said. While chairing the meeting, the minister asked the DC to issue a petitioner chargesheet for skipping the meeting and suspend Singh, the court was told.
Singh has sought quashing of his suspension order arguing that it was the result of his filing a criminal complaint of defamation of his father and him before the chief judicial magistrate, Narnaul.
The court was further told that the DC had not rejected his leave applications nor was he told that it had not been sanctioned. The committee, presided over by the minister, was not the one constituted under the Constitution of India and nor under any statute and it had no authority to issue direction for chargesheeting and suspending the petitioner, the court was told.