Former IAS officer fined Rs 1 lakh for filing 'frivolous' plea against J&K LG

JAMMU: The Central Administrative Tribunal's Jammu Bench has fined former IAS officer Kumar Ranchhodbhai Parmar Rs 1 lakh for filing a "mischievous and frivolous" plea against the Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir and other senior bureaucrats.
The tribunal’s judicial member Rajinder Dogra shared on July 16 that Parmar’s application about his service was intended solely to "harass" Lt Governor Manoj Sinha and others.
The tribunal noted that the matter was service-related, and Parmar should have impleaded the Union and state governments instead of targeting Sinha and other officials by name.
"It is quite astonishing to note that the applicant, a senior IAS officer with extensive knowledge of the Constitution and its laws, proceeded to file the application seeking relief against the Hon'ble Lieutenant Governor," the tribunal stated.
The tribunal dismissed Parmar's application and imposed the cost to "prevent the filing of such mischievous and frivolous petitions in future". The fine must be deposited in the Advocates' Welfare Fund within two weeks.
Advocate Monika Kohli, representing Sinha, argued that naming the Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir in the plea was not permissible under Article 361 (4) of the Constitution.
The tribunal agreed with Kohli's argument. It questioned how Parmar could seek service-related reliefs from the authorities in their private capacity.
"It is also seen that the applicant has unnecessarily impleaded the Cabinet Secretary of India and Secretary, DoPT as a party in the O.A. by name, though no allegations have been made by the applicant against them in the application," the tribunal observed.
The tribunal emphasized that civil proceedings can't be initiated against the Lt Governor without a two-month prior written notice stating the details of the proceedings, the cause of action, and the relief sought. Parmar failed to provide evidence of such a notice, which influenced the tribunal's decision to deny relief.
"The applicant has failed to produce any proof or evidence, that such a notice has been made and delivered. Hence, this tribunal is not inclined to grant any relief to the applicant to this extent," it stated.
In his plea, Parmar sought a direction to Lt Governor and other officials to upgrade his grading from 5 to 10 on a scale of 1-10 concerning the assessment of work output, personal attributes, and functional competency. He also requested his overall numerical grade to be upgraded from 5 to 10.
Parmar further sought to have the adverse remarks in his 'Performance Appraisal Report' expunged for the period of May 4, 2022, to August 6, 2022, related to his role as principal secretary of the Jal Shakti Department. He also sought his empanelment as an additional secretary effective from 2019 and as secretary from 2023.