The Supreme Court on Friday declined to entertain a public interest writ petition that sought a direction to quash the order of suspension of and the charge sheet filed against Uttar Pradesh IAS officer Durga Shakti Nagpal.

A Bench of Justices H.L. Dattu and M.Y. Eqbal questioned the locus standi of advocate Manoharlal Sharma to file the petition. It said it might consider the plea if she (Ms. Nagpal) herself approached the court. It told the petitioner that the officer could take care of herself and she could also approach the other authorities, including the court, against the suspension order, and dismissed the petition.

“Unconstitutional”

Mr. Sharma contended that the government order was unconstitutional, arbitrary and lowering the constitutional systems as well as against orders of the Supreme Court. On September 29, 2009, this court directed that henceforth no unauthorised construction should be carried out or permitted in the name of temple, church, mosque or gurdwara on public streets, public parks or other public places. All States and the Union Territories had taken necessary steps to ensure that no further unauthorised constructions were undertaken and the court’s directions were seriously and meticulously complied with.

The petitioner said Ms. Nagpal was posted in Ghaziabad as a sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) in September 2012, and then got appointed as SDM of Gautam Budh Nagar. When she visited Kadalpur village, she found encroachment on the government land and under political hand a construction of a mosque upon public land. She immediately stopped the construction work and directed that the encroachment be removed immediately. Subsequently she was victimised, suspended and chargesheeted.