DR.

RAM MANOHAR LOHIYA

NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY
LUCKNOW

Final Draft
Subject: -Political Science
Project on: - Role of Politics in bureaucracy
Special emphasis on the case of Durga Shakti Nagpal
SUBMITTED TO: -

SUBMITTED BY:

Dr. Monika Shrivastav

Asst. Professor
Political Science
R.M.L.N.L.U.

Avani Jain
Roll No. 47
Semester II(Section-A)
B.A. LL.B (Hons.)

TABLE OF CONTENTS
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Introduction
The case of Durga Shakti Nagpal
Facing the same music
Victim of political skuldoggery
Centres Intervention
Reinstatement
Aftereffect
Conclusion
Bibliography

ACKNOWLEDGMENT
First of all I would like to thank my teacher Dr. Monika Shrivastava for giving me such a golden
opportunity to show my skills through this project and enhance my knowledge on this topic. The
project is a result of an extensive research study, hard work and labor, that is put into to make it
worth reading and this was possible only with the heartous support of my subject teacher.
I wish to acknowledge that in completing this project I had full support of my library staff. This
project would not have been completed without the help of my universitys library Dr. Madhu
Limaye library which had various quality books on the chosen topic and the universitys internet
facility that helped me in making my research a success.

INTRODUCTION
Government and bureaucracy have always gone hand in hand. Both complement each
other in one way or the other .Bureaucrats are the permanent executive of the state
whereas politicians are the temporary executives.It is said that am IAS officers "pen is
mightier than the scalpel" if he wants he can initiate actions for betterment of the society.It is
not concealed from any person that bureaucrats are moulded by the politicians for their
personal interests and exercise undue influence on them so as to stop them from
performing their duties faithfully.
One such case is that the recent case of Durga Shakti Nagpal. Durga Shakti Nagpal, a
young Indian civil servant, has found herself the focus of huge media attention, political debate
and a row between the federal and state government in recent days, after she was suspended
allegedly for ordering the destruction of a wall that was to form part of a mosque.Political and
environmental activists, however, argue that Ms. Nagpal was targeted for work she reportedly
did to curtail illegal mining in Uttar Pradesh, the northern Indian state where she was a local
magistrate.
She was suspended by the chief minister on the grounds that she had, without
authorization, ordered the destruction of a wall intended to be part of a mosque, a move which
the state government argued could stir up religious tension.
Nagpal's victimization is a new low in a long process of the subversion of
bureaucracy..

CASE OF DURGA SHAKTI NAGPAL

Ms. Nagpal was ostensibly suspended for taking on the powerful and politically well connected
sand mafia operating along the Yamuna and Hindon rivers in Greater Noida. It is alleged that a
ruling party leader of Gautam Buddha Nagar having links with the sand mafia was instrumental
in getting her suspended. As SDM(Sadar) of Noida, Ms. Nagpal had almost single handedly
taken the sand mafia head on and had reportedly seized 30 dumpers and registered about two
dozen FIRs against illegal mining. The mining contractors, who virtually call the shots in Noida
and Greater Noida, were on the run.
Originally belonging to the Punjab cadre of the IAS, Ms. Nagpal shifted to Uttar Pradesh in
2012. She was posted a s SDM(Sadar) in Gautam Buddha Nagar in September 2012. This was
her first posting in the State.
The official version, confirmed by the government is that Ms. Nagpal was suspended on 27-072013 for disturbing communal peace. A government spokesperson said that Durga Shakti
Nagpal was suspended for ordering the removal of a wall of an under-construction mosque in
Kadalpura village under Rabupura police station area in Gautam Buddha Nagar district on July
27, without following the legal procedure, which threatened to disturb the communal peace.
In Bengaluru, AkhileshYadav told the reporters: There are many such incidents where there is a
chance of communal tension erupting, it becomes necessary to take certain administrative
decisions to prevent it. When we dont take any decision , you(the media) complain of our
indecision and if we take, you say it is a harsh decision.
The workers of the BhartiyaJantaParty(BJP) and AamAadmi Party(AAP) staged a protest at the
District Collectorate in Noida. Condemning the move to suspend an honest officer, the State
Secretary of Communist Party of India (CPI), demanded that the suspension be revoked with
immediate effect. In the context of growing support of Ms. Nagpals reinstatementBahujanSamaj Party president Mayawati sought the governor to intervene in the matter.
Ram GopalYadav made the statement that the young officer should be reinstated after an enquiry.
Asserting the fact that the action was taken by the chief minister himself, he said
Sarkar main hum hain. Defending the decision he said, No mining takes place within the 20
to 25 kilometre radius of the village.
Chief Minister AkhileshYadav sent a strong signal to IAS lobby that the government would not
be browbeaten. He said , Durga Shakti Nagpal arbitrarily decided to pull down the mosque
wall.
Union Home Minister, Sushil Kumar Shinde taking a safe stand commented, Certainly, I say
that the bureaucracy must have freedom. But the bureaucracy must work under the ambit of the
law, within the given charge they should workI believe that. Refusing to say whether the
decision was right or wrong, Mr. Shinde said that it was the matter concerning the State.

FACING THE SAME MUSIC

The suspension of IAS officer Durga Shakti Nagpal is not an exception in view of the
administrative suspensions and transfers that have taken place in cases where officials have acted
against illegal sand mining in Uttar Pradesh. Kaushambi Superintendent of Police
PratibhaAmbedkar was transferred from the district in March 2012 after she instructed the
registration of cases against officials indulging in illegal activities in the Yamuna, where sand
mining is rampant. She had filed a first information report on a complaint against the additional
zilapanchayat officer, who had falsely claimed a private ghat as part of government ferry. The
FIR lodged by her on September 22,2011, dealt with two sections of the Indian Penal Code,
including 120B(criminal conspiracy).
More recently the Allahabad High Court rapped the administration for transferring senior IAS
officer Himanshu Kumar .The Courtreferred to a nexus between the sand mining mafia and State
officials leading to replacement of Mr.Kumar as the Allahabad Divisional Commissioner. Mr.
Kumar was reportedly transferred at the behest of illegal sand mining mafia operating in the
Trans-Yamuna Shankergarh area of Allahabad. The silica sand in the area is one of the finest in
the country and is widely used in manufacturing high quality glass.
The recent killing of Kunda Circle Officer Deputy Superintendent of Police Zia-ul-Haqin
Pratapgarh has also been linked to his opposition to and seizing of illegally mined sand by the
mafia. Haq was probing several cases of illegal sand mining involving some highly placed
persons.
Ms. Nagpalsbatchmate and Nalagarh Sub Divisional Magistrate in Himachal Pradesh Yunus
Khan had a narrow escape in the line of duty, as he tried to check illegal quarrying.Mr.Khan tried
to stop 2 vehicles loaded with gravel and sand in the Nalagarh area of Solan district, the driver of
one of the vehicles tried to ram it into Mr.Khans official car. He had got threatening calls but
hewas having government support. He had recently intensified raids to check illegal mining on
the river beds. The sources claimed that the mining mafia in the hill state had political patronage.

VICTIM OF POLITICAL SKULDOGGERY

The Uttar Pradesh governments swift instruction to suspend Ms. Nagpal had less, therefore, to
do with its perception that the incident would affect communal harmony than the understanding
that by punishing the young SDM the issue would get highlighted in such a way that the ruling
SP would be portrayed as the protectors of the minority community. It would simultaneously
remove from the scene a zealous young officer who, by all accounts, had taken on the sand mafia
that operates across a large swathe of western U.P. Local Samajwadi Party MLA and chairperson
of the U.P. State Agro Industrial Corporation Limited, NarendraBhatty can polarize the votes in
the constituency on communal lines, he could eat into both the Muslim votes that the BSP and
the Congress received the last time. A video taken at the meeting, supposedly held a couple of
days after Ms. Nagpals suspension aired by TV channels shows Mr. Bhatty bragging that he got
the IAS officer suspended in 41 minutes. I spoke to Mulayam Singh Yadavji and AkhileshYadav
at 10.30 pm(on July 27) and the suspension order came at 11.11pm, he is seen telling the
meeting.
Indeed, the SP appears to be leaving no stone unturned in communalizing the issue: senior state
minister Mohammed Azam Khan- a veteran of the now defunct Babri Masjid Action Committeewent so far as to dismiss the sand mafia by saying that everyone had a right to natural resources.
Ram naamki loot hai loot sakotoh loot lo. Senior Minister ShivpalYadav, denying the role of
the mining mafia behind the suspension said. She was suspended for demolishing the wall of a
mosque without following the legal process. His version is that the owner of the land had not
objected to the construction of a wall on his land. But when some persons lodged a false
complaint with Ms. Nagpal, she had it demolished and this led to communal tension.
The version of the locals is that the gram panchayat agreed to the construction of a mosque on a
government land a few months back. Mr. Bhatty had come to the inauguration and even made a
monetary contribution. But permission was not sought from the district magistrate for the
construction of the mosque something that is mandatory before clearing building plans for any
place of worship ever since the Supreme Court passed such a ruling.
Ms. Nagpal was, therefore, well within her rights to pull down the wall, they say, adding that
perhaps she could have given some notice as that was the month of Ramzaan.
Now comes the DMs report to the government on the incident: it says Ms. Nagpal was asked to
visit Kadalpur village from where reports of illegal construction activities on government land
had come in and to settle the matter amicably . The report also suggests it was unclear what
religious site it was, since the construction had only just begun. When Ms. Nagpal and other
officers deputed to visit the village arrived there, the villagers were told that they should either
seek permission for the construction of a religious structure, as per the governing rules, or
dismantle the illegally wall. The residence of the village then choose, the DMs reports says, to
dismantle the illegal construction of their own volition. No heavy machinery was ever pressed
into service to demolish any wall, as the government has suggested. The report, with inputs of
district police as well as other administeritve officers also says there was no communal tension or
the possibility of any class between religious communities. But AkleshYadav appeared to be in
mood to accept this report , even do he is currently up against not just one or two officers, but the
entire bureaucracy: after all, it is seldom that the IAS Association of a State speaks up for one
amongst them, as the U.P. body has done for Ms. Nagpal.

CENTREs INTERVENTION
Ms. Sonia Gandhi wrote to the PM: We must ensure that the officer is not unfairly treated. At
the same time, this particular instance has highlighted need to assess whether there are adequate
safeguards in place to protect executive functionaries working beyond the average call of duty to
uphold the rule of law. It is reported that Ms. Durga Shakti Nagpal, a young IAS officer of U.P.
has been hastily suspended for unsubstantiated reasons. The Department of Personnel and
Training(DoPT) had taken a position against such interventions, advising that the Centre cannot
step in if aggrieved officers are working under their parent States and not on Central deputation.
Under All India Services(Discipline and Appeal) Rules 1969, an officer can appeal against the
suspension order of a State government she or he is serving under. The officer must do so within
45 days of being served suspension order by the State government. The government must also
initiate disciplinary proceedings within 45 days of suspension of the officer. An enquiry against
the suspended officer has to be completed within a period of 1 year if the charges do not relate to
corruption. If the aggrieved officer does appeal to the Centre, the later can step in as the cadre
controlling authority to cancel the suspension- an order that can be argued against by the State
government under rare and specific circumstances. Thogh the Centre received a report from the
U.P. government on the matter, the officer did not write to the Centre for relief.
Amidst escalating tension with the Congress, the Samajwadi Party declared that the decision of
suspension was final, correct and irrevocable. The party dared the Centre to withdraw all
IAS officers from the State. AkhileshYadav justified his action saying it was like a school kids
being punished by teachers and pulled up by their parents for doing wrong. Sarkar main
bhikuchaisa hi hae, adhikari agar galatkamkarega to dandithoga, Mr. Yadav said, implying
that the government, convinced that it took the right decision, would not succumb to pressure
from the Centre, the powerful IAS lobby and political parties.

REINSTATEMENT
The CM and the ruling Samajwadi Party came in for widespread criticism over Ms.
Nagpalssuspension amid suspicion that she was punished for her crackdown on the sand mafia
operating along the Hindon and Yamuna rivers in the area.
The CM had appointed principal secretary (home) RM Srivastava as the inquiry officer in the
case on August 29 and sought a report within 15 days.
With inquiry pending against her, suspended IAS officer Durga Shakti Nagpal on 21st September
met Uttar Pradesh chief minister AkhileshYadav and gave her clarification over the issue which
led to her suspension.
I have not completed my probe as yet, Srivastava said, declining to share any more
information.
Nagpal's suspension was revoked by Uttar Pradesh government on September 22, a day later
when she met the CM and gave her clarifications. She was posted as Joint Magistrate of Kanpur
(Rural) on September 28.
The decision to revoke the controversial suspension of IAS officer Durga Shakti Nagpal is a
delayed decision, central IAS officers' association said and demanded a mechanism to ensure fair
and free working of bureaucrats in the country.
"Everyone know it is a delayed decision (reinstatement of Nagpal). IAS officers' in the
country need an environment to work freely and fairly," said Sanjay R Bhoos Reddy,
Secretary of central IAS officers association here.
"There has to be a mechanism to check undue pressure on bureaucrats, who work tirelessly
for the country," he said.
They had demanded that the power to transfer an Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian
Police Service (IPS) and Indian Forest Service (IFoS) officer should be taken away from
states.The Ministry of Personnel is reviewing service rules to check harassment of any civil
servant by frequent transfers or arbitrary suspensions. The demand to review rules was raised by
associations of three all India services -- Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Police
Service (IPS) and Indian Forest Service (IFoS).At present, the state government as a cadre
controlling authority has powers to transfer or suspend an officer of the elite services working
under their jurisdiction.

AFTEREFFECT
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The National Green Tribunal(NGT) on 5-08-2013 ordered a nationwide stay on sand mining on
river beds without Environment Ministry clearance. At the same time, the Ministry has decided
to approach the Supreme Court to seek clarification on the process for according environmental
clearances for minor mineral mining projects occupying less than 5 hectares, as well as send an
inspection team to U.P. to look into illegal sand mining there. The Court had in February 2013
ordered mandatory green clearances from the Central government for extracting minor minerals
from plots of less than 5 hectare. The Bench said, besides violation of law, mining is being
carried out on a large scale, causing revenue loss to State which may be running into lakhs of
crores. The petition filed by RitwickDutta, Bar Association secretary, was specific to Yamuna
and its tributaries but the tribunal extended the case to all States.
The road leading upto illegal sand extraction sites along the Yamuna in Greater Noida now wears
a deserted look. Where a few days ago, rows of trucks, tractors and dumpers were seen
frantically ferrying sand to construction sites, jobless loaders now chat idly chafing at the police
crackdown that has forced their employers-the sand mafia-to shut shop.
In the past few days, the police have arrested around two dozen people and seized over 40
vehicles. This comes after a recent National Green Tribunal directive putting a nation wide stay
on sand mining along river beds without Environment Ministry clearance. Sides of the road give
way now to unpaved nearby settlements where some trucks and excavators are stationed
unattended. A couple of large stone crushers installed by the riverside have also shut down, with
large mounds of sand dumped at several places.According to a villager, the sand mafia operated
in the dead of the night to evade detection and there was little possibility of getting a hold of
them during the day. They have also got rid of the stock to avoid legal action, he said.
He also informed that one would not find anyone selling sand here right now. While many
operators have been driven away by the police, the others have gone underground fearing action.
One will have to travel some more distance towards the river to find out whether there is still
anyone digging sand. Tracks of heavy vehicles probably tractors and trucks were seen on the
muddy potholed stretch suggesting that the route had been used to transport sand extracted from
the adjoining river. Also heaps of sand were found dumped inside a gated complex. The police
have intensified their action against those involved in the illegal trade after the suspension of
Durga Shakti Nagpal. Nearly 130 cases have been registered and around 160 people booked
since January, besides 200 vehicles have been impounded. The controversy has also led the other
agencies concerned to initiate inquiries into the allegations of rampant illegal sand mining in the
region.

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CONCLUSION
The successes of modern democratic government have to be considered the successes of
government bureaucracies as well.
Bureaucrats have a duty of implementing plans and policies made by the State for the
betterment and welfare of the public. For the smooth and non-stop functioning of the
State both, the politicians and the government have to follow the same threads of the
process of execution. Since time immemorial honest officers have been transferred
continuously or suspended by the incumbent government as they exercised proper
administration which posed a threat to the government. Durga Shakti Nagpal is one such
case where this IAS officer of 2009 batch has been made a puppet in the hands of the
government. She has been punished for stopping the sand mafia from illegal mining from
the river Yamuna and has been trapped into a false case of demolition of a mosque wall.
If Mr. Yadav was to survive this incident unscathed, he had to demonstrate political acumen and
reinstate Ms. Nagpal. This was not a case of denial of minority rights, but of a blatant violation
of the law.
It is the duty of our elected government to cooperate and support the bureaucrats to wipe all
those mafia or any other individual or group who go against law and exploit the natural resources
for their own profit thus disturbing the ecological balance. Political leaders should not forward
their helping hand in view to maintain their own monetary electoral conditions.
Thus mutual understanding, freedom from the side of the government and honesty on the part of
the bureaucrats is what is essential for the progress of the society.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY
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The Hindu
The Times of India
The Indian Express
The Hindustan Times
DainikJagran

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