The Union home ministry has issued a memorandum for departmental inquiry against former IAS officer Kannan Gopinathan, two months after he resigned from service to protest against the restrictions imposed in Jammu and Kashmir following the abrogation of Article 370. Gopinathan has been slapped with a slew of charges of deriliction of duty, including not submitting files on time and not applying for PM Excellence Award. He has also been accused of damaging the image of the Central government through his media interactions in the backdrop of the Kashmir shutdown.
"The disciplinary authority proposes to hold an inquiry against Gopinathan, IAS (AGMUT 2012), under Rule 8 of All India Services (Disciplinary & Appeal) Rules, 1969. The substance of the imputations of misconduct or misbehaviour in respect of which the inquiry is proposed to be held is set out in the enclosed statement of Articles of Charge (Annexure -I)," said the memorandum. "A statement of the imputations of misconduct or misbehaviour in support of Articles of Charge is enclosed (Annexure- II). Gopinathan is be heard in person," said the memorandum.
"He is informed that an inquiry will be held only in respect of those Articles of Charge, which are not admitted. He should therefore, specifically admit or deny each Article of Charge," it said.
Publishing the charge-sheet that was emailed to him, Gopinathan took jibes at PM Narendra Modi and the home ministry, especially Home minister Amit Shah, in a series of tweets.
The 33-year-old IAS officer of the AGMUT cadre, posted as the Power Secretary in the Union Territories of Daman and Diu and Dadra & Nagar Haveli, had tendered his resignation on August 21, a fortnight after the Kashmir lockdown.