Sources from the Services Department, however, claimed that the order issued by the government was 'illegal'.
In the letter, the lieutenant governor said that in the past one week, a "gloomy face of governance" emerged in Delhi where "organised, structured and specialised administrative machinery" is yet again facing the "brunt" of "highhandedness" of the political executive.
More was issued a memo by services minister Saurabh Bhardwaj on May 13, seeking him to show cause and threatening disciplinary action against him for allegedly not complying with a direction for his transfer and "going incommunicado".
Citing complaints against Rajshekhar for 'running an extortion racket and demanding protection money', Delhi vigilance minister Saurabh Bharadwaj on May 13 ordered withdrawing all work assigned to the officer with immediate effect.
Officers of the three premier services -- Indian Administrative Services, Indian Police Service and Indian Foreign Service -- will now spend a minimum of two years at each posting and any exception in the form of transfers or new appointments will only be done upon the recommendation of a civil services board, according to new rules aimed at checking political interference.
'I hope the Centre and the states will both act in the spirit of cooperative federalism and find acceptable solutions without testing the law and the limits of each other's power.' 'This should not be considered a wrestling match.'
In a path-breaking verdict, the Supreme Court on Thursday said bureaucrats should not act on verbal orders given by political bosses as it sought an end to frequent transfers and suggested a fixed tenure to insulate them from political interference.
Power Secretary Pradeep Kumar Sinha was appointed as the next cabinet secretary of the country on Friday. He will succeed Ajit Seth who has been holding the position for the last four years.
On his PIL, the SC had in 2013 directed the Centre and the states to set up a Civil Services Board to decide on transfers of officers.
By asking that braces and struts be provided from all sides, will the Supreme Court be able to buttress the civil service spine so that it stands straight instead of bending over backwards, forward and sideways? Somehow, I doubt it.
Former chief information commissioner Satyananda Mishra says the Supreme Court order to frame guidelines for civil servants to insulate them from political interference is a mere elaboration of reports of committees constituted by the central government.
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