Daijiworld Media Network
New Delhi, Apr 26: The IAS officer who was suspended last week for checking Prime Minister Narendra Modi's helicopter in Odisha's Sambalpur, and later reinstated, has said he was only doing his duty and will go to the court for justice.
Mohammed Mohsin, a 1996 batch Karnataka cadre IAS (Indian Administrative Service) officer was suspended for "not acting in conformity" with instructions on Special Protection Group (SPG) personnel, said an Election Commission order.
The EC said it had issued a guideline in April 2014 and another extension to it in March 2019, which apparently mentioned that VIPs offered the protection of Special Protection Group are exempt from search, which is otherwise mandatory for all private vehicles associated with political parties and politicians during poll season. However, a few national media such as NDTV reported that no such exception was found anywhere among the EC's guidelines available on the public domain.
Though the Election Commission revoked the suspension on April 25 after the Bengaluru bench of the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) stayed the order, he was asked to report back to the Karnataka government. The EC also recommended the Karnataka government to initiate disciplinary action against him and accused him of 'dereliction of duty'. Mohsin now only faces a ban from taking up election duties until further order, and not suspension.
A general observer of Sambalpur constituency, the officer had carried out a sudden check of PM Modi's helicopter, causing a delay of 15 minutes.
"I was doing my duty. On the spur of the moment they have suspended me. I have not received a single report. I am fighting for myself in the dark," Mohsin told NDTV.
The suspension order was cancelled by the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT). “It cannot be said that SPG protectees are eligible for anything and everything" and that "election officials have checked private vehicles of (Karnataka) chief minister H D Kumaraswamy more than once and no action followed... the chief minister of Odisha's vehicles were also checked," the CAT order read.
Following this the Election Commission revoked the suspension.
The officer’s suspension was also condemned by the Congress. "An official was suspended by ECI for doing his job of inspecting vehicles. The rule cited governs the use of official vehicles for campaigning. It does not exempt PM's vehicle from being searched. What is Modi carrying in the helicopter that he doesn't want India to see?" Congress tweeted from its official handle.
AAP also took to Twitter, "The #chowkidar lives in his own protected shell! Is the Chowkidar trying to hide something?"
Did not order to search PM’s chopper: Moshin
Mohsin, however, insisted he did not order a search of the Prime Minister's chopper. According to The Hindu, in his reply to the CAT, Mohsin's lawyer stated that he had neither ordered search of the helicopter nor had he asked to videograph the helicopter. Mohsin also said that he was not present at the helipad when the search and videographing took place.
He claimed that the EC failed to pinpoint the exact violation nor did it provide him the copies of reports submitted by the district election officer and the deputy inspector-general of police, based on which action was initiated against him. He claimed that the action against him was high-handed and aimed at humiliating him.
"The applicant (Mohsin) reasonably believes that this order was passed by the commission on extraneous considerations on a law-abiding officer with a view to humiliating him and also with a view to deriving political advantage in favour of a political party. The action of the commission is high-handed, mala fide and is not in good faith," the report in The Hindu quoted an excerpt from Mohsin's reply.
The tribunal noted that it was apparently the Prime Minister's security officials which complained about the officer ordering video recording of the chopper's landing. However, Mohsin argued that even if the landing was videographed and a search was requested, it did not amount to any insulting act that warrants action.
"By videographing the helicopter, no insulting act was committed. If somebody strongly feels that somebody has been insulted, it indicates that there is something to be hidden. If somebody is irked for no fault of the officer performing his duty, he cannot be targeted by using the Commission as an election observer’s presence may irk the Prime Minister and his party. As the Prime Minister of this country, he was required to voluntarily allow a search which would have enhanced his image. He should be a model to the other political parties and his own party members...," Mohsin's application to CAT read.
Not new to controversy
According to a report by First Post, Mohsin is not new to controversies. In 2011, he was chastised by the Gulbarga high court circuit bench for "falsely encouraging an aggrieved person to have hopes and aspirations which were ultimately dashed because of the legal position" in connection to providing employment to a man who had lost his father, a government worker. Though the man was ineligible for the job, Mohsin and other officers had made a case for his appointment. In 2014, Mohsin was issued a bailable warrant by the Karnataka Administrative Tribunal for not responding to notices issued to him over non-compliance of an order relating to a teacher's transfer. It may also be mentioned here that Mohsin has previously shared anti-BJP posts on social media, even though IAS officers are supposed to be non-partisan.