Tiwari defies Maha govt order, attends office

Mumbai, Jan 14: A defiant Ramanand Tiwari continues to attend office despite Maharashtra government recommending his suspension as state's Information Commissioner and barring him from remaining present in office till the inquiry into Adarsh housing scam gets over.

"I continue to attend office as I have not got any communication from the state government asking me not to attend office," Tiwari, a retired IAS officer, whose son owns a flat in Adarsh society, told PTI.

Alleging "misconduct" by Tiwari in the Adarsh Housing Society scam, the State cabinet had on January 11 recommended his suspension to Governor K Sankaranarayanan.

Another retired IAS officer Subhash Lalla resigned as member of the State Human Rights Commission last week. The government had asked Tiwari to quit the post on moral grounds but he defiantly rejected the suggestion and instead applied for a three-month leave, which was turned down by Governor.

The cabinet recommended to the Governor to refer to the Supreme Court the matter of misconduct by Tiwari, under section 17 of the Right to Information Act. It also suggested that Tiwari be suspended from the post and barred from remaining present in office till the inquiry is on.

"For Tiwari to continue in office is not in the interest of the state. We have submitted enough grounds to take action against Tiwari and the Governor will send the recommendation to the Supreme Court which will hold an inquiry and decide whether to suspend him or terminate his services," Chavan had said after the cabinet meeting.

PTI