Govt weighs sacking two officials linked to Mundhwa land deal, legal experts push for caution

Pune: The state revenue department has recommended the dismissal of two officials linked to the Mundhwa land deal even as the Vikas Kharge-led committee has yet to submit its report on alleged irregularities in the transaction. Senior govt sources said the proposal was still "under process" and undergoing legal scrutiny, with experts cautioning that dismissal without a formal enquiry was permissible only in exceptional situations.Mantralaya officials said the recommendation concerned sub-registrar (stamp duty department) R Taru and Pune tehsildar Suryakant Yewale. "The proposal invokes the state's discretionary powers under Article 311 of the Constitution, though no final decision has been taken. This was recommended to ensure such acts are not repeated," a senior revenue department official said.
The officials said if approved, it would be a rare instance of dismissal without enquiry, intended as a deterrent amid allegations of irregularities in the registration of govt land.Retired bureaucrats and legal experts stressed that bypassing a departmental enquiry was uncommon. Article 311 allows such an action only in three situations — when an employee is convicted of a criminal offence, when an enquiry is deemed not reasonably practicable, with reasons recorded or when the President or governor concludes that holding an enquiry would compromise state security."Courts have consistently held that ‘not reasonably practicable' cannot be invoked for administrative convenience," a senior advocate said. "Courts have struck down dismissals based on vague or mechanical references to Article 311, and have rejected justifications like administrative urgency, public pressure, media attention or the seriousness of allegations alone. The reasons for skipping an enquiry must exist upfront and cannot be defended post-facto," the advocate said.With the Kharge panel's report awaited, the officials said govt would undertake a detailed legal review before acting on the recommendation..