Latest news with #ControlandAppeal)Rules
The Hindu
02-05-2025
- The Hindu
Kochi Corporation suspends official over bribery charges
The Kochi Corporation suspended Swapna A., building inspector at its Vyttila zonal office, on Friday (May 2, 2025) after the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) arrested her on bribery charges. She was suspended pending inquiry as per the provisions of the Kerala Municipality Act, 1994, said a communication issued by Mayor M. Anilkumar on Friday. 'The disciplinary action taken against her will be reported to the Principal Director, Department of Local Self-Government, for initiating further action as per the Kerala Civil Services (Classification, Control and Appeal) Rules, 1960,' it said. She was arrested by VACB officials at Ponnurunni on Wednesday (April 30, 2025) for allegedly seeking ₹15,000 from a builder to process an application for a building number for apartments in a complex. VACB personnel reportedly recovered ₹45,000 from her bag and purse, and she had arrived in her vehicle, allegedly to collect the bribe. On Friday, vigilance sleuths inspected the zonal office at Vyttila as part of the probe into allegations of corruption involving officials. They reportedly examined her cabin and sought documents related to the applications she had considered for the allotment of building numbers. Inspections were also carried out at her apartment on Kaniampuzha Road and her house at Mannuthy, Thrissur, amid suspicions that she had amassed wealth beyond her lawful sources of income. She was placed under VACB surveillance following complaints that she was allegedly demanding a bribe for the allotment of building numbers.
Indian Express
01-05-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
Goa vigilance department suspends chief town planner pending ‘disciplinary proceeding'
The Goa government's Directorate of Vigilance Wednesday suspended Rajesh J Naik, the chief town planner (planning) of the Town and Country Planning (TCP) department. An order issued by the Directorate of Vigilance said that a 'disciplinary proceeding' against Naik is 'contemplated'. 'Now, therefore, the Governor of Goa, in exercise of the powers conferred by sub-rule (1) of Rule 10 of the Central Civil Services (Classification, Control and Appeal) Rules, 1965, hereby places said Rajesh J Naik, the Chief Town Planner (Planning), Town and Country Planning Department, Panaji – Goa, under suspension with immediate effect,' the order said. The suspension comes over two months after a petition was filed in the High Court of Bombay at Goa by some environmental activists. The petitioners sought disciplinary action against the chief town planner for allegedly causing loss of several crores to the exchequer by undervaluing assessment fees for the correction of a zone change of a plot under the contentious section 17 (2) of the Goa TCP Act. The petitioners also sought directions to the state to initiate an inquiry to ascertain the loss caused to the exchequer in the assessment of fees in respect of 120 cases published in the official Gazette for change in zoning under section 17 (2) since April 2024. The activists had also lodged a complaint with the police and vigilance department in February in this regard. Last month, the state government informed the HC that it found 46 beneficiaries of zone change wherein the fees for correction was underassessed. The state had said that a preliminary inquiry had been initiated by the vigilance department and a report would be submitted to the HC. Rajesh J Naik did not respond to calls for a comment. In October last year, members of several citizens' collectives, civil society and villages across the state had staged a protest outside the office of the Town and Country Planning department demanding Naik's resignation. The people had alleged that the chief town planner 'approved, endorsed and signed on' conversion of lakhs of square metres of land in the state under some contentious changes in land use laws, including under section 17 (2) and section 39 (A) of the TCP Act, causing severe damage to the coastal state's ecology.
Time of India
23-04-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Karnataka high court upholds dismissal of civil servant convicted in assault case
Bengaluru: The high court reaffirmed a strong stance on the integrity expected of public servants, declaring that a person convicted of a serious offence is not fit to continue in public service. This observation came while dismissing a petition filed by G Nanjegowda , a second-division assistant formerly employed at District Institute of Education and Training, Bengaluru Urban district. Nanjegowda was convicted in 2011 for an assault committed in 2001 and sentenced to two years' imprisonment, a verdict upheld by the high court in 2016. Following his conviction, he was dismissed from service on Nov 18, 2023. After an unsuccessful appeal before Karnataka State Administrative Tribunal, which dismissed his petition on Oct 25, 2024, he approached HC seeking relief. Nanjegowda argued that even Rule 14 of Karnataka Civil Services (Classification, Control and Appeal) Rules, 1957 does not provide for automatic dismissal from service when a civil servant is convicted in a criminal case. However, after reviewing the rule, a division bench of Justices Krishna S Dixit and Ramachandra D Huddar noted that dismissal from service on grounds of conviction and sentence in a criminal case involving moral turpitude cannot be faulted, as Rule 14 of 1957 Rules is as clear as the waters of Ganga river. "... A person convicted of a serious offence is not desirable in public service. The offence committed has no nexus to official duties or conditions of service, which is too poor a justification to retain the convict in public service. It goes without saying that if conviction in a criminal case is a bar to public appointment, ipso facto it is a ground for removal from service. An argument to the contrary would strike at the root of reason and logic," the bench added.
