AAP government cancels transfer orders of ACB SHO issued by MK Meena

The Delhi government on Tuesday cancelled the transfer order of the SHO of Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) issued by Joint Commissioner M K Meena, holding that it was passed without prior permission of Directorate of Vigilance.

The ACB falls within the purview of Directorate of Vigilance and no permission was obtained by Meena before issuing transfer orders, the state government said in a fresh order. As per Allocation of Business Rule, 1993, ACB is a part of Directorate of Vigilance, Government of NCT of Delhi, it said. Meena had issued three orders on Monday and appointed Inspector Brij Mohan as the new SHO replacing Inspector Vinay Malik.

"Any work allocation order can be passed only after obtaining the approval of the Head of Department i.e. Director of Vigilance. "In the instant case, no such approval was obtained and therefore, the aforesaid three orders have been passed by M K Meena without authority. These orders are therefore, hereby cancelled," Director of Vigilance Sukesh Kumar Jain said in the order.

Jain said Malik shall continue to work as the SHO of ACB and advised Meena to refrain from passing such "unauthorised" orders in future. Malik is considered close to the AAP government-appointed ACB chief S S Yadav and had been playing a crucial role in the recent anti-corruption action, according to the sources.

The move can further intensify the tussle between Lt Governor-appointed Meena and AAP government's ACB Chief Yadav who operate from the same premises.