Thiruvananthapuram Jan 23 PTI Kerala on Sunday urged the Centre to drop the move to bring amendments to IAS Cadre deputation rules saying it will create fear psychosis among civil service officials to implement the state government policiesIn a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the present deputation rules are themselves heavily loaded in favour of the Union and bringing in further stringency will weaken the very root of cooperative federalismThe proposed amendments in the Deputation Rules of All India Services will definitely induce a fear psychosis and an attitude of hesitancy among All India Service Officers to implement policies of a state government which are formed by partyparties politically opposed by the ruling party at the Centre Vijayan said in the letterHe said the Kerala government is of the opinion that these proposed amendments may be droppedIn our federal set-up the state governments are on a par with the central government as both of them are elected by the people though the division of authority in the Constitution does give the Union jurisdiction over a wider range of subjectsWe need to recognise that in a vibrant democratic and federal polity States and the Centre can be ruled by political formations with vastly different ideologies and political views But these governments function within the framework of the Constitution the letter saidThe union government has proposed an amendment to the IAS Cadre Rules 1954 which would enable it to post IAS officers on central deputation bypassing reservations of state governments PTI TGB ROH ROH

New Delhi [India], January 5 (ANI): The Central government on Wednesday informed the Supreme Court that there was a "compelling need" to appoint Indian Police Service (IPS) Rakesh Asthana as the Delhi Police Commissioner taking into consideration the national capital's "extremely challenging situations" of public order, policing issues, and their implications on national security.

New Delhi Aug 25 PTI The Supreme Court Wednesday asked Delhi High Court to decide within two weeks the plea pending before it challenging the appointment of senior IPS officer Rakesh Asthana as Delhi Police CommissionerThe 1984-batch IPS officer was shifted to the Union cadre from Gujarat cadre and appointed Commissioner on July 27 -- four days before his superannuation on July 31 -- for a tenure of one yearA bench comprising Chief Justice N V Ramana and justices D Y Chandrachud and Surya Kant permitted NGO Centre for Public Interest Litigation CPIL to move the Delhi High Court to intervene in the pending plea against Asthanas appointmentWe request the Delhi High Court to consider the matter as early as possible in two weeks for us to have the benefit of the high courts judgement The petitioner CPIL is at liberty to file intervention application before Delhi HC it said in the orderSolicitor General Tushar Mehta appearing for the Centre opposed the PIL saying the matter pertained to the appointment of police chief of a state and the high court concerned should deal with itHe said the high court may be granted some more time instead of two weeks as so far no notice has been issued to the Centre which will have to file its response The petition moved by advocate Prashant Bhushan urged the court to set aside the Centres order to appoint Asthana after extending his service periodAt the outset the CJI expressed his inability to hear the PIL saying I had expressed my views during the selection of CBI DirectorThe CJI in an earlier meeting of the high-powered selection panel which also comprised the Prime Minister and the leader of opposition had put forth the legal position which reportedly led to non-consideration of Asthana for being appointed as the CBI DirectorThere are two issues One is about my participation I had expressed views about the selection of this gentleman in the CBI Director selection Second thingas somebody has filed a petition in the High Court rightly or wrongly We understand that time is of the essence of the matter So we will fix a time limit of two weeks for the high court to decide the case and we will have the benefit of the high court judgment also CJI Ramana saidPrashant Bhushan appearing for the NGO alleged foul play saying sometimes ambush petitions by simply resorting to cut-paste are filed in collusion with the governmentThe bench gave Bhushan the liberty to intervene in the pending petition or file a fresh one before the high courtMehta said a similar plea was pending in the high court and the NGO be asked to move there and asked which fundamental right of Bhushan has been violated leading him to file the petition in the apex courtBhushan retorted that on his petition the appointment of Central Vigilance Commissioner was annulled in past and Asthanas appointment has been done by egregious violations of rules resulting into violation of fundamental rights of citizensThe government has shown brazen violation of rule of law and gave extension of service by appointing Asthana few days before his retirement he saidThe conditions have been laid down by the apex court in the Prakash Singhs case that recommendation has to come through the UPSC and the officer should have a minimum six months of service left at the time appointment Bhushan saidSo far as ambush petitions are concerned less said is better We have professional PIL litigants who file surrogate pleas at behest of people who lost out in race Mehta said towards the end of hearingThe NGO urged the apex court to direct the central government to produce its July 27 order approving the inter-cadre deputation of Asthana from Gujarat cadre to AGMUT cadreIt termed the extension of his tenure as well as appointment as illegal as he did not have a residual tenure of mandatory six months of service at the time of his appointment as Commissioner of Police since he was to retire within 4 daysIt also claimed that the order violated the Fundamental Rule 56d which stipulates that that no government servant shall be granted extension in service beyond the age of retirement of sixty years The central government did not have the power under Rule 3 of All India Services Conditions of Service- Residuary Matters Rules to relax Rule 161 of the All India Services Death-Cum-Retirement Benefits Rules in order to give extension of service to Rakesh Asthana the PIL claimedCPIL further claimed that the Centres order violated the policy regarding Inter-Cadre deputation of All India Service OfficersThe impugned orders are in clear and blatant breach of the directions passed by this court in the Prakash Singh case as Asthana did not have a minimum residual tenure of six months no UPSC panel was formed for appointment of Delhi Police Commissioner and the criteria of having a minimum tenure of two years has been ignored it saidThe appointment of Asthana to the post of Commissioner of Police Delhi must be set aside on the same principle it saidOn July 3 2018 the top court had issued a slew of directions on police reforms in the country and ordered all states and Union Territories not to appoint any police officer as acting Director General of Police DGPIt had also directed all states to send the names of senior police officers to the Union Public Service Commission UPSC for being considered as probable candidates to be appointed as DGPs or Police Commissioners as the case may beThe UPSC in turn will prepare a list of three most suitable officers and the states will be free to appoint one of them as police chief it had said Besides it said that endeavour should be made that a person appointed as DGP has reasonable period of service left PTI SJK MNL SA