SHILLONG, July 29: If it’s Meghalaya, impossible is nothing, albeit in negative sense.
Imagine an all-India officer who was caught cheating in qualifying test, absconded for three years, convicted and jailed, and defying Meghalaya High Court direction, has manipulated his way to hold a key executive position.
Sounds fiction? Not quite.
Documents available with The Shillong times reveal that 1994-batch Indian Forest Service (IFS) Officer MBK Reddy of the Meghalaya Segment of the Joint Assam-Meghalaya cadre joined service on May 16, 1994 at the Indira Gandhi National Forest Academy (IGNFA) Dehradun to undergo the 1994-97 IFS Probationers Course.
He absconded from the Academy in January 1995 and did not report to the IGNFA until the completion of the 1994-97 IFS probationer course on May 15, 1997.
On September 27, 1996 Reddy was removed from service (discharge simpliciter) by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) on grounds of unauthorised absence from training/duty. Reddy has not undergone the mandatory IFS Probationary Course at IGNFA so far.
The story begins in 1996 when during the General Studies (Paper-I) examination of the Civil Services (Mains) examination at the Bhopal centre where four fake supplementary answer books (running into 32 pages) which deceptively resembled the supplementary answer books issued by the UPSC for their examinations were recovered from Reddy. He was asked to leave the examination hall. His statement was later recorded where he confessed to having carried pre-written answer sheets with him. The matter was reported to the UPSC. A preliminary enquiry followed and on being prima facie satisfied about the allegations, criminal offences under various sections of the IPC were registered against him.
The UPSC issued a show-cause notice to Reddy to explain why action should not be taken against him under the rules of conduct of examination. Reddy’s replies to the show-cause being unsatisfactory, the UPSC debarred Reddy for a period of 10 years from November 10, 1997 from sitting for any examination/selections and his candidature for the CSE 1996 was also declared null and void.
Surprisingly, on April 23, 1999, Reddy obtained a favourable judgment from the Andhra Pradesh High Court against order of his removal from service in spite of the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) having jurisdiction over the matter.
Following the High Court order, Reddy was reinstated to his service on September 5, 1999 and received pay and allowances for the entire period from September 27, 1996 to September 5, 1999 without attending a single day’s duty.
Reddy reported for duty in Meghalaya in 2000. He has not passed the mandatory Departmental Examination prescribed for Indian Forest Service (IFS) officers so far.
It may be noted that the CBI filed a chargesheet against Reddy in the CBI Court Indore. He raised a preliminary objection contending that the alleged offences were committed at Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, and CBI had no authority or jurisdiction to institute criminal proceedings against him.
However this preliminary objection was rejected by the Magistrate vide an order dated December 17, 2002. Reddy then preferred a revision petition in the Madhya Pradesh High Court, which the court dismissed.
Reddy challenged the Madhya Pradesh High Court order in the Supreme Court but it was dismissed on March 14, 2008.
On November 3, 2011 the Special Judicial Magistrate, CBI and Economic Offences held Reddy guilty and sentenced him to rigorous imprisonment for 3 months with a fine of Rs 500 and another concurrent sentence of two years of rigorous imprisonment with additional fine of Rs 500.
Reddy appealed against his conviction before the 4th Additional Sessions Judge, Madhya Pradesh which was dismissed. On dismissal of the appeal, Reddy was sent to jail on September 29, 2013. Reddy then filed a criminal revision petition before the Madhya Pradesh High Court which suspended the sentence without going into the grounds of conviction and fallibility thereof. In its order dated October 8, 2010, the Madhya Pradesh High Court released Reddy on bail subject to depositing the fine amount and furnishing a personal bond of Rs 25,000 with one surety depositing a similar amount.
Hence Reddy underwent imprisonment between September 29, 2013 and October 10, 2013 after which he was released on bail.
On account of Reddy being convicted on criminal charges, the central government initiated disciplinary proceedings against him in 2017, awarding appropriate penalty for removal/dismissal from service taking into account the gravity of the criminal charges.
As usual, Reddy challenged the disciplinary proceedings before the Guwahati Bench of the CAT on May 3, 2017 on grounds that the central government had no authority to issue the order. Interestingly the CAT Guwahati regularised the period of imprisonment of Reddy from September 29, 2013 to October 10, 2013 as leave.
The MoEF&CC then filed a writ petition before the Meghalaya High Court to challenge the judgment and order of the CAT, Guwahati dated January 2, 2020.
In its judgment dated July 7, 2022, the Meghalaya High Court directed the Meghalaya government to take appropriate steps to initiate disciplinary proceedings against Reddy within a month.
What is of interest in the Meghalaya High Court judgment is that it pointed out that Reddy had not taken appropriate steps to prosecute the criminal revision petition of 2013 pending for nearly nine years in the Madhya Pradesh High Court.
The Meghalaya High Court specifically pointed out that Reddy had taken advantage of such proceedings not only to play the Meghalaya government against the central government, but also to override the orders of suspension and attempts at initiating disciplinary proceedings against him for his proven criminal conduct.
The Meghalaya High Court in its judgment also noted: “…here is a civil servant who was convicted by an appropriate criminal court in 2011 for commission of offences under the Penal Code in 1996 – offences as grave as indulging in corrupt practice in course of a Civil Services Examination – and yet he continues to hold a position of authority as an Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests in Meghalaya…”
During the period when prosecution for criminal charges and disciplinary proceedings initiated by the central government were still pending, Reddy obtained five promotions, some with retrospective effect.
All these promotions were in clear violation of the provisions issued by the Department of Personnel and Training, Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pension which clearly mandates that recommendations of the department promotion committee in respect of such officers should be kept in a “sealed cover” and such officers should not be promoted until exonerated of all charges.
On March 17, 2023, the MoEF&CC, in its capacity of Cadre Controlling Authority for IFS officers, requested the Meghalaya government to withdraw all five unlawful promotions extended to Reddy and bring him back to the position of Assistant Conservator of Forests, a position he would have normally held but for incorrect order of promotion.
The MoEF&CC also desired that suitable disciplinary action be taken against officers and staff responsible for such erroneous promotions.
Despite the Meghalaya High Court’s order and that of the Ministry asking that disciplinary proceedings be initiated against Reddy within a month of the judgment and the promotions granted to him be withdrawn, no action has been taken by the Meghalaya government.
This is in clear violation of the High Court’s order which ostensibly means that Reddy has influential people in the state government backing him up.
At present, Reddy holds three sensitive posts – Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Scheme, Budget, Legal Matters and Court Cases), Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Social Forestry & Environment) and Managing Director (MD) Forest Development Corporation of Meghalaya (FDCM).
In the first position he holds, Reddy has complete control over formulation and distribution of the budget of the entire department and to deal with all court cases including those related to his own service matters.
In the second position he holds, Reddy has complete control over 7 of 26 Forest Divisions in the Forest and Environment department.
As MD of the FDCM he is also the CEO of the only state PSU under administrative control of the department.
All files relating to the territorial wing comprising 6 out of 26 Forest Division dealing with management of Reserved and Protected Forests regulation of establishment of wood-based industrial units, regulating of feeling of trees and transit of timber and other forest produce, issue of certificate on status of land required by industries and other developmental projects as forest or non-forest, regulation of extraction and transit of minor minerals including grant of minor mineral leases in the State are all routed through Reddy without any order from the state government, via the Office of the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF) and Head of Forest Force (HoFF) authorising him to do so. Hence Reddy enjoys powers with impunity.
Despite being ineligible to hold any sensitive posts, Reddy controls about 80 per cent of the physical and human resources of the Forest department. Reddy also uses the login credentials and password of the PCCF and HoFF for online e-proposals and BEAM Portals. The expenditure of the entire department is controlled by him with the PCCF reduced to being a silent observer.
The questions that arise are: Who in the Meghalaya government is/are protecting MBK Reddy and why?
Why is the judgment and order of the Meghalaya High Court violated so blatantly?
And what would it take for justice to prevail in this state?
