Inside Raisina Hill: Is The Premature Repatriation Of CBI Joint Director A Strategic Move?

As one walks down the Hill along the Rajpath, now renamed Kartavya Path, come other edifices — Rail Bhavan, Krishi Bhavan, Shashtri Bhavan, and Kartavya Bhavan on one side and Sena Bhavan, Udyog Bhavan, and Vanijya Bhavan on the other. The bureaucrats who adorn the offices in these buildings decide on India's economic, social, and industrial policies. There are many tales to be told from the corridors of these grandiose buildings. We let you in on some of them here in this week's edition of "Inside Raisina Hill".

CBI Joint Director's Premature Repatriation To Tamil Nadu

The Centre’s decision to prematurely repatriate the Joint Director of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Vidya Jayant Kulkarni, an IPS officer of 1998 batch, to her home cadre of Tamil Nadu is considered as a "strategic manoeuvre" by the newly formed government in Tamil Nadu.

Kulkarni returns under the “extended cooling off” condition, as per paragraph 14.2 of the IPS Tenure Policy. Though the official reason attributed to the repatriation is “personal”, the timing and the stiff conditions of her return suggest a calculated move to bolster a state’s new administration after the change of guard at the political level.

Sources within the bureaucracy suggest that the Chief Minister is keen on bringing senior officers, who possess high-level central experience but remain untainted by local partisan friction.

Kulkarni is also expected to act as a vital bridge between Chennai and New Delhi. Her deep understanding of central agency workflows is seen as an asset for a state government looking to maintain a balanced, non-confrontational relationship with the Centre.

Punjab’s Long Wait For Full-Time DGP

Punjab has the distinction of having the longest-serving officiating DGP: Gaurav Yadav, a 1992-batch IPS officer, has been serving in the post since July 2022.

Yadav was appointed as the officiating DGP after the then state police chief V.K. Bhawra was sent on leave.

Despite Supreme Court intervention, the state's long wait for a full-time DGP drags on.

The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) had asked the Punjab government to provide the "present status of pending cases" against Sharad Satya Chauhan, a 1992-batch IPS officer, who holds the post of the Director of the Punjab Vigilance Bureau, before convening the empanelment committee meeting to shortlist three officers for the post of a regular DGP for Punjab. This will further delay the process.

Chauhan is the senior most among the 14 IPS officers who figure on the list sent by the state government to UPSC on April 6.

The commission sought details about Chauhan on May 15, four days after CBI reached the Punjab Vigilance Bureau headquarters in Mohali in connection with an alleged bribery case in which Chauhan’s reader, inspector O.P. Singh Rana, is an accused.

It is to be noted that the Punjab government had passed the Punjab Police (Amendment) Bill in 2023, which empowers the state to appoint the DGP through a separate state-level committee. But the Bill is yet to be given assent by the President.

Centre Revokes Compulsory Retirement Order Against Two NITI Officials

The Centre has revoked its decision to force retire two senior NITI Aayog officials, who were unceremoniously axed.

Reportedly, Vandana Sharma (Deputy Adviser) and Harendra Kumar (Joint Adviser), have officially returned to office after a high-level review committee quietly overturned their terminations.

However, there is no rescinding decision with regard to another official, Vishwanath Bisoi (Deputy Adviser), as he continues to face a protracted wait due to his decision to challenge the executive order before the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT). Bisoi’s re-entry now entirely depends on the judicial outcome at the CAT, and thus he has been left with no option but to wait-and-watch.

The three officers were prematurely retired under the stringent Rule 56(J) of the Fundamental Rules during the tenure of B.V.R. Subrahmanyam as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of NITI Aayog. Rule 56(J) empowers the government to retire public servants in the “public interest” based on performance and integrity reviews.

"Most-Dilapidated" Shashtri Bhawan To Be Operational For Another Year

For years, in the glossy, high-power PowerPoint presentations showcased across North Block and urban planning forum, Shastri Bhawan was the poster boy for architectural decay. Despite being top of the “most-dilapidated” list, the immediate evacuation and dismantling of the office premise has been quietly postponed for a while.

The sprawling post-independence bureaucratic complex was portrayed as a living museum of misery. Pathetic and structurally compromised civil structures, dangling internet cables, dark, low-ceilinged corridors, damp seepage and severely strained civic infrastructure had been the identity of Shastri Bhawan. It was used as an ultimate justification for why the national capital desperately needed the state-of-the-art Central Vista Redevelopment Project.

While relatively newer, sturdier structures have been swiftly evacuated and reduced to rubble, Shastri Bhawan remains standing, stubborn and operational for another one year.

SC Asks Why IAS Officers’ Children Get Reservations

The Supreme Court recently raised the question as to why children from economically and educationally advanced OBC families should continue receiving reservation benefits.

Hearing a petition related to Karnataka’s creamy layer policy, Justice B.V. Nagarathna observed that families that have already gained social and economic advancement through reservation should eventually move beyond the system to ensure benefits reach those who still remain disadvantaged.

The remarks came during proceedings before a bench comprising Justice Nagarathna and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan.

During the hearing, Justice Nagarathna pointed to the larger purpose behind reservation policies and questioned whether benefits should continue across generations once a family has achieved upward mobility.

She remarked that if both parents are IAS officers or hold senior government positions, the family has already attained educational and economic empowerment, which also improves social standing. In such cases, she questioned the need for children to continue availing themselves of reservation benefits.

The court stressed the need to maintain balance while implementing reservation policies meant for socially and educationally backward communities.