Srinagar: Now, officers from civil administration can also be appointed as head of the Anti-Corruption Bureau(ACB) in Jammu & Kashmir as administration of the Union Territory has ordered that Indian Administrative Service(IAS) officers are eligible for the same.
The administrative council headed by LG Manoj Sinha has cleared a proposal governing conditions for appointment of the Director ACB.
According to the proposal, the Director ACB shall be an officer from IAS/IPS on tenure basis, not below the rank of commissioner secretary to the government/inspector general of police.
”The appointment of the Director, Anti Corruption Bureau shall be governed by the Jammu and Kashmir Vigilance Organization (Gazetted) Service Recruitment (Qualification and Eligibility) Rules, 2009, providing that the Director, Anti Corruption Bureau, shall be an officer from IAS/IPS on tenure basis, not below the rank of Commissioner/Secretary to the Government/Inspector General of Police,” reads an order issued by general administration department.
After the constitution of Jammu and Kashmir State Vigilance Commission, only IPS officers were eligible to be appointed as head of the vigilance organization as the law that governed SVC clearly stated that “no person below the rank of Inspector General of Police shall be eligible for appointment as Director of Anti-Corruption Bureau”.
Before it, IAS officers were also eligible for appointment as head of the State Vigilance Organisation but they were rarely appointed.
In its 47-year-old history, only two officers from civil administration have helmed the prestigious body mandated to investigate corruption charges against public servants.
S.M Desalphine( 16-10-1996 to 22-12-1999 and S.S Kapur( 22-12-1999 to 23-05-2000), both IAS officers, were appointed as commissioner vigilance . All others posted as head of the body from Peer Ghulam Hassan Shah to incumbent Director Anand Jain were from police.
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