NEW DELHI: The home ministry on Thursday wrote to the West Bengal chief secretary reaffirming its decision to call three IPS officers belonging to the state cadre, on central deputation, while also finalising their new postings against existing vacancies in Central police organisations. The move led chief minister Mamata Banerjee to step in and vent her ire on social media against the Centre's "deliberate attempt to encroach upon state’s jurisdiction and demoralize the serving officers in West Bengal".
In a letter addressed to the chief secretary and copied to the DGP, the home ministry said it had examined the state government's reply refusing to spare the three officers -- Rajeev Mishra (ADG, South Bengal); Bhola Nath Pandey (SP, Diamond Harbour) and Praveen Kumar Tripathi (DIG, Presidency Range) -- despite the Centre's decision to call them on Central deputation. Citing Rule 6(1) of IPS Cadre Rules, which relates to deputation of cadre officers and clearly states that the Centre's decision would prevail in the event of any disagreement between the Centre and state government, the home ministry said the three officers, whose appointment it had already approved against existing vacancies at the Centre, should be relieved immediately so that they can join their news postings at the earliest.
The three officers, who were directly handling security of BJP President JP Nadda's when his convoy was attacked in West Bengal last week, were also sent separate letters asking them to join their Central postings at the earliest. While Rajeev Mishra has been appointed as an IG in Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) for a period of five years, Praveen Tripathi has been appointed as DIG, Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) with a Central deputation of five years and Bholanath Pandey as SP, Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPR&D) for four years.
An irked Mamata Banerjee, in a series of tweets, denounced the Central government's "order of central deputation for the 3 serving IPS officers of West Bengal despite the State’s objection" as "a colourable exercise of power and blatant misuse of emergency provision of IPS Cadre Rule 1954".
"This act is nothing but a deliberate attempt to encroach upon state’s jurisdiction and demoralize the serving officers in WB. This move, particularly before the elections is against the basic tenets of the federal structure. It's unconstitutional and completely unacceptable!" she noted.
The chief minister warned that West Bengal "wouldn’t allow this brazen attempt by the Centre to control the state machinery by proxy!...West Bengal is not going to cow-down in front of expansionist and undemocratic forces".
Sources in the home ministry however insisted that Rule 6(1) of IPS cadre rules clearly establishes the Centre's precedence in matters relating to Central deputation of All India Services (AIS) officers belonging to various state cadres. "The state may play difficult but ultimately will have little choice but to part with the IPS officers, particularly as their appointment in Central police organisations (CPOs) have already been cleared," said an officer.
It remains to be seen if the matter will end up in court, like it had done in an earlier case of deputation of Tamil Nadu cadre IPS officer (now retired) Archana Ramasundaram in CBI. The Tamil Nadu government had suspended and chargesheeted Ramasundaram for relieving herself for CBI deputation despite lack of concurrence from it. The Delhi High Court later held that the suspension and chargesheet against Ramasundaram, who retired as DG of Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), was prompted by "legal malice".