Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, Jan 8: Unbelievable it may sound but it is a fact that State Government, which is time and again laying stress on making officers/officials accountable for any sort of wrongdoing, has failed to make use of the post of Commissioner of Inquiry, which is exclusively meant for handling all sorts of departmental inquiries for their expeditious completion and recommending action against the delinquent employees.
Official sources told EXCELSIOR that Commissioner of Inquiry is like any other post of Commissioner Secretary or Principal Secretary required to be held by an IAS officer for exclusively handling the departmental inquiries into the allegations of misconduct under the Jammu and Kashmir Government Employees (Conduct) Rules, 1971 in respect of State Government employees and under All India Services (Conduct) Rules, 1968 in case of IAS/IPS officers.
Ironically, this post is not being utilized for the purpose it is meant for despite the fact that post assumes much importance keeping in view the fact that large number of inquiries are ordered every year by the Government into the allegations of misconduct by its employees, sources said.
It is pertinent to mention here that whenever a complaint is filed against the misconduct of any officer or official, the concerned department holds preliminary inquiry. On the basis of the preliminary inquiry, the disciplinary authority prepares charge-sheet and serves the same to the erring officer/official. On receiving the reply of the erring officer/official, the matter is required to be handed over to the Commissioner of Inquiry for conducting further proceedings on day-to-day basis for expeditious completion of probe and submission of recommendations to the concerned department for necessary action.
Embezzlement/misappropriation of funds, diversion of funds with ulterior motives, tampering of records, illegal appointments, conferring un-due benefits for pecuniary benefits, wrong entries in the records or any other act which is unbecoming of a Government servant and violates Conduct Rules fall under the definition of misconduct, sources informed.
“The non-seriousness towards this vital post can be gauged from the fact that no officer has been appointed Commissioner of Inquiry during the past more than two and half years”, sources said, adding “earlier, the post was being considered as dumping yard but now it seems that Government has even closed this dumping yard thereby exposing its double standard towards making officers/officials accountable for any wrongdoing in a shortest possible time”.
In response to a question, sources said, “instead of getting this important post filled up the Government is getting the inquiries conducted through the officers of the respective departments, which is resulting into inordinate delay in their completion”, adding “the inquiries being conducted in this way are getting delayed mainly because of the fact that those made Inquiry Officers are required to handle other routine administrative matters also and they cannot handle inquiry on day to day basis”.
“It is not understandable as to why the Government is burdening the officers by entrusting them departmental inquiries or making them Inquiry Officers when a dedicated post for the task is available and an officer of integrity and honesty can easily be made Commissioner of Inquiry”, sources regretted, adding “on one side the Government is making tall claims of strengthening anti-corruption apparatus but on the other side it is abolishing such important posts”.
“If the Government wants to make the erring officers/officials accountable for any wrongdoing it should immediately make a suitable officer Commissioner of Inquiry”, they stressed, adding “even certain cases being investigated by the Vigilance Organization can be entrusted to the Commissioner of Inquiry as the Vigilance deals with criminal part while as recommending departmental action can be easily handled by this post”.
According to the sources, to make the Commissioner of Inquiry post fully functional after appointment of suitable officer, the General Administration Department is required to provide sufficient manpower.
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