Govt staff involved in ‘suspected activities’: STF set up

JAMMU: The Jammu and Kashmir administration on Wednesday set up a special task force (STF) for identifying and scrutinising cases of government employees involved in “suspected activities” against the government.

Additional Director General of Police (DGP) of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) will be the chairman of the six-member STF, according to an order issued by Commissioner-Secretary, General Administration Department (GAD), Manoj Kumar Dwivedi.

“Sanction is hereby accorded to the constitution of a Special Task Force for identifying and scrutinising cases of government employees to initiate the process for action in terms of provisions of Article 311(2)(c) of the Constitution of India,” the order stated.

The panel may take the assistance of other agencies and departments in this regard, as necessary

Article 311(2) imposes a fetter on the power of the President or the Governor to determine the tenure of a civil servant by the exercise of pleasure as also the power of the authorities on whom the power to impose penalty of removal, dismissal and reduction in rank might be conferred by the law made under Article 309.

The STF will scrutinise cases of employees suspected of indulging in activities requiring action under Article 311(2) (c) of the Constitution of India and compile a record of such employees, wherever necessary, to engage with other members of the Terror Monitoring Group (TMG) for identifying such other employees, the order stated.

The panel may take the assistance of other agencies and departments in this regard, as necessary, it said. The STF shall speedily scrutinise such cases in a time-bound manner and shall be serviced by the CID, it said.