Compulsorily retired by Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on recommendation of UP government in March this year, IPS officer Amitabh Thakur challenged the order in the Lucknow Bench of Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT).
Thakur maintained that the move of the MHA and UP government was completely unlawful and taken with prejudice and personal grudge against him as a result of which his entire family mentally aggrieved.
The officer further charged that he along with some other officers were singled out without any concrete government policy and were removed from service citing no other reason except for ‘public interest’.
Sources said that Thakur approached the CAT after the MHA reportedly denied sharing information with him regarding his compulsory retirement and said that it could not be provided. The MHA denied the information under Section 8(1)(i) of the RTI Act, 2005. Thakur got a reply in Hindi from the MHA on April 26 against his three questions sought from the ministry through RTI.
“Disagreeing with the decision, Amitabh preferred the first appeal saying that the decision had already been made in this case and hence denial under Section 8(1)(i) was not correct,” said Nutan Thakur, the wife of the former IPS officer.
“Amitabh also called denial of information related to his livelihood as being against the basic spirit of the RTI Act,” Nutan said.
When asked about this, the Home Ministry officials refused to comment and said that they were not aware of any RTI reply to Amitabh Thakur.
Thakur was compulsorily retired with immediate effect in ‘public interest’ on March 23 last. Thakur was ‘not found fit to be retained for the remaining tenure of his service’.
“In the public interest, Amitabh Thakur is being given premature retirement before completion of his service with immediate effect,” a Union Home Ministry order said.
In 2017, Thakur had urged the Centre to dispose of his request for change of cadre to any state other than UP, saying the ‘bias’ against him did not exist anymore after the then ruling Samajwadi Party was routed in Assembly polls.
The officer was suspended on July 13, 2015, days after he accused SP patron Mulayam Singh of threatening him. A Vigilance enquiry was also initiated against him. However, the Lucknow Bench of Central Administrative Tribunal stayed his suspension in April 2016 and ordered his reinstatement with full salary with effect from October 11, 2015.