India News | HC Stays Proceedings Against Delhi Govt Officials Before NCSC

New Delhi, Oct 11 (PTI) The Delhi High Court Monday stayed the proceedings of a case before the National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) relating to summoning of senior Delhi government officers, including the Chief Secretary, on a complaint made by an employee of the Transport Department.

Justice Rekha Palli issued notice and asked the commission to file a status report on the petition filed by the Delhi government challenging NCSC's decision to take cognisance of the employee's complaint which has been allegedly filed for the second time.

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The court also asked the employee, chairman of a motor driving school here, to file his counter affidavit in response to the petition and listed the matter for further hearing on February 1, next year.

“Till the next date, proceedings before respondent no. 1 (NCSC) shall remain stayed,” the high court said while asking central government standing counsel Manish Mohan, representing the commission, to seek instructions in the matter.

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The Delhi government, in its petition, alleged that the commission has entertained a second complaint by the employee containing almost identical and baseless allegations.

It alleged that the commission has ignored the fact that the Transport Department has filed an FIR against the employee last year for the alleged offences of forgery and tampering with official records and the complaint of March 9, 2021 by him is a counterblast and an attempt to pressurise the authorities to withdraw the case.

The commission has entertained a complaint which does not disclose any discrimination against scheduled castes but pertains to individual grievances which are either sub judice or have no relation to caste, the petition alleged.

“The commission has erred in exercising jurisdiction in the present case and taking cognisance of a complaint containing issues, which are either sub judice before this court or pending for investigation with the local police.

"There is not an iota of harassment or discrimination on the basis of caste in the present case, and the respondent no. 2 (employee) is in fact using the process of the commission to get an FIR cancelled, which is registered by local police on the complaint of petitioner (Transport Department) for the offences of forgery and tampering of official records,” said the petition, filed through additional standing counsel Gautam Narayan.

The plea said the commission has once again summoned the Deputy Commissioner of Police, North East district, through its September 30 notice along with an up-to-date action taken report and summoning of DCP in this matter is a “misuse of power” by NCSC to influence the investigation officer, in the matter of FIR registered against the employee by the local police on the complaint of the Transport Department.

The employee in his complaint claimed that caste-based remarks were made against him by an officer.

The commission, through its September 30 notice, has summoned Delhi government officers — Chief Secretary, Principal Secretary cum Commissioner of Transport Department, Secretary of Department for Welfare of SC/ST/OBC and the DCP of north east district, to appear in person before it.

“The Supreme Court has repeatedly deprecated the practice of summoning of public officials by constitutional courts and the commission in gross violation and disregard of this settled legal position has gone ahead and summoned the aforesaid officers in a complaint which is evidently an attempt to overreach the orders passed by this court,” the Delhi government plea said.

It added that “the present writ petition once again brings forth an extremely worrying state of affairs regarding the functioning of the respondent no.1 (NCSC)” and that the Department of Transport of Delhi government is constrained to knock the doors of the high court to assail the legality of proceedings that have allegedly been wrongly entertained and are currently being erroneously continued by the commission.

The Delhi government sought to quash the minutes and notice of September 30 passed by the commission which shall be restrained from proceeding further in the March complaint in violation of Rules.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)