The Delhi government's first order aimed at effecting a reshuffle in the bureaucratic ranks, after being handed the reins of 'services' by the Supreme Court a day ago, has triggered yet another tussle between it and the bureaucracy. It also triggered its decision to approach the apex court again, alleging contempt of its decision. At the core of the latest spat was Services Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj's decision to replace incumbent Services Secretary, Ashish More, a 2005-batch AGMUT cadre IAS officer, with Anil Kumar Singh of the 1995 batch within hours of the verdict on Thursday. While Bharadwaj's office accused More of absenting himself, following the former's direction to present a file for the transfer “of a new officer” to his post, sources from the department termed Bharadwaj's decision “illegal” and “in contravention” of the All India Service Rules and procedure. “Ashish More unexpectedly left the Secretariat without notifying the Minister's office, rendering himself unreachable while his phone also remained switched off,” Bharadwaj's office stated. “. possibly under the influence of the Central Government, the Special Secretary of the Services Department sent a communication to the Minister. indicating that the Ministry of Home Affairs notification dated May 21, 2015, has not yet been set aside. Along with this, the Services Secretary has not even initiated a file for posting a new officer,” Bharadwaj's office stated. The MHA notification had put services, or the transfer and posting of officials posted to Delhi, under the L-G’s ambit. Sources in the bureaucracy contended that this was, in fact, still under implementation in the capital as the “Centre was yet to modify it”. Following this, Bharadwaj’s office stated that the Services Secretary had been informed that their failure to comply with the orders of the Supreme Court would “potentially be considered contempt of court.” A senior government official said, “The Services Minister putting up a file seeking transfer is in contravention of existing norms and rules; the Minister should have put up the file to the Chief Secretary instead.” “Besides, there is also the issue of a minimum tenure at play; rules provide for the minimum tenure of an IAS officer to be of two years. If an IAS official is to be transferred from their current posting before this, the decision has to be justified to the State Committee to review minimum tenure headed by the CS,” the official also said.
