The Allahabad Bench of Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) has issued notices to the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) and the Uttarakhand Government over irregularities in the Joint Secretary level recruitmens process, drawing attention towards the allegedly flawed and biased process of lateral entry scheme to the bureaucracy.
This comes after an application by Indian Forest Service (IFS) officer Sanjiv Chaturvedi seeking quashing of the 360-degree appraisal system and restraining the central government from filling up of posts of Joint Secretary-level and above through “contract system”. This case dates back to 2017 when the Modi Government initiated the process for lateral entry into bureaucracy on a contract basis and appointed nine professionals from the private sector as joint secretaries in the central government in 2019.
The order by Allahabad bench of CAT granted time to counsel of central government to ‘seek instructions’ including the department of personnel training (DoPT) and MoEF&CC. The next hearing is scheduled for September 3, 2020.
Stating that the present system of recruitment of Joint Secretary level post through contract system is completely arbitrary and irrational, the petition said that the documents obtained under RTI Act, prima facie reveal certain serious irregularities, which needs to be investigated objectively by an appropriate agency.
