IAS Rajneesh Dubey
On the instructions of the Supreme Court, the Appointment Department has started investigating the allegations of harassment against 1988 batch IAS officer Rajneesh Dubey. Additional Chief Secretary of Minority Welfare Department and senior IAS officer Monica S Garg has been appointed by the department to monitor the investigation. At present Rajneesh Dubey is working as Additional Chief Secretary in the Animal Husbandry Department.
Earlier, in 2021, Rajneesh Dubey was working as the Additional Chief Secretary of the Urban Development Department, where a female executive officer had filed a harassment complaint against him. A special secretary of the Urban Development Department was named the investigating officer in that case. However, dissatisfied with the investigation report, the complainant had approached the Supreme Court expressing concern over the impartial investigation conducted by a junior officer of the same department against a senior IAS officer like Rajneesh Dubey.
Monica S Garg appointed for investigation
Responding to the complainant’s petition, the Supreme Court on October 18 ordered an investigation into the case by a senior woman IAS officer. The court also ordered that the investigation be completed within a period of two months. After this, the Appointment Department issued an order on November 3 and appointed Monica S. Garg for investigation. Additionally, Monica Garg has been nominated as the Chairperson of the Internal Complaints Committee responsible for investigating complaints of women harassment against senior IAS officers of Additional Chief Secretary level from 1987 to 1990 batch with effect from October 25.
The investigation committee will work under the chairmanship of Monica S. Garg.
After the appeal of the victim woman officer in the Supreme Court, on September 22, 2023, the court issued an order to form an investigation committee under the chairmanship of senior woman IAS officer Monica S. Garg. In response to the Supreme Court order, Monica S Garg was appointed as the Chairperson of the Internal Complaints Committee under the provisions of the “Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act 2013”.
