Bombay high court summons principal secretary of tribal dept

MUMBAI: The Bombay high court on Wednesday summoned Manisha Verma, principal secretary of tribal development department, to remain present in court to explain why she had not taken stern action against nodal officers for their failure to launch criminal prosecution against those alleged to have misappropriated department funds.
The bench of Justices S C Dharmadhikari and Riyaz Chagla expressed its displeasure at the response given by the state in its affidavit.
The HC is hearing a PIL filed in 2012. The HC had asked the state to inform if any major penalty was imposed on the officers and whether they were suspended. The HC also sought to know if chargesheets were filed against those named by a court-appointed committee.
The court now wants the principal secretary to answer why “she has not pulled up nodal officers for delayed action”.