Law invoked for refusal to comply with direction of Central government.
Hours before he retired, former Chief Secretary of West Bengal Alapan Bandyopadhyay was served a show cause notice by the Union Home Ministry under Section 51 of the Disaster Management Act, 2005, punishable by an imprisonment of up to two years or a fine or both.
The section pertains to “punishment for obstruction” for refusal to comply with a direction given by the Central government.
Mr. Bandyopadhyay has been asked to “explain in writing” to the Home Ministry within three days as to “why action should not be taken against him” under Section 51 of the DM Act.
The notice was served barely a couple of hours before he retired on May 31. He had refused a three-month extension sanctioned to him by the State and Central government.
On May 31, the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) also shot off a letter asking him to comply with its May 28 order to report to the Central government’s office…