"I went by the rule book"

December 9: R K Sonawane, who as officiating commissioner of the Kalyan Dombivli Municipal Corporation (KDMC) reinstated two officials raid...

December 9: R K Sonawane, who as officiating commissioner of the Kalyan Dombivli Municipal Corporation (KDMC) reinstated two officials raided by the ACB said he was “acting in consonance with the rules”.

Jaywant Mhatre (PA to the commissioner) and Sunil Joshi (officer, town planning) were let off on bail, after which Sonawane permitted them to resume duty. Rumours abounded about the hurry with which he took the decision, even as the new civic commissioner Madhukar Kokate was taking charge.

The rules do not allow any officer to be suspended without a proper inquiry, said Sonawane, adding “The special judge in the cases against both the officials had found the allegations to be vague,” he said. Interestingly, the legal department head Anil Lad claims to not have not received any information about any such action.

“While it may not be binding on the general administration to ask the legal department’s opinion, it could at least have kept us informed on the official goings-on,” he said. Sonawane claimed that in his position as the officiating commissioner, the prerogative to decide whether the legal department needed to be consulted rested with him.

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