Alapan Bandyopadhyay moves CAT challenging Centre's probe

kolkata: Former chief secretary Alapan Bandyopadhyay, who is at present the chief advisor to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, has moved to the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) against the Centre challenging its jurisdiction to initiate an inquiry against him.

According to the sources in the state Secretariat, Bandyopadhyay has moved to the CAT with the argument that the Centre cannot undertake a probe directly against an IAS officer.

Instead, as per the federal structure, it has to advise the concerned state government to take up any disciplinary move against an IAS officer and there are judgments of the Supreme Court in this regard.

It may be recalled that the Centre in June had warned him of "major penalty proceedings" with allegations cropped against him of skipping Prime Minister Narendra Modi's cyclone Yaas review meeting on May 28.

The letter was sent to him even after the retired IAS officer had already given a reply to the show cause issued to him by the Home Ministry stating that being the state's chief secretary it was his duty to follow instruction of the Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to whom he was accompanying.

Bandyopadhyay, who was the then chief secretary, had accompanied the Chief Minister to a review meeting of the cyclone Yaas at Contai after attending Prime Minister Narendra Modi's meeting at Kalaikunda.

The Centre's Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) had issued a memorandum (dated June 16) stating that Bandyopadhyay has to submit a written statement in his defence or appear in person before the authority within 30 days after receiving the same or else "the inquiring authority may hold the inquiry against him ex-parte".

Sources said that he was asked to appear before the inquiry authority on Monday. But he moved before the CAT.