Though the officers wielding executive powers are at liberty to exercise their authority for punishing the officials for misconduct, but in no way they are at liberty to assault officials for dereliction of duty or no compliance of the orders issued in larger public interests. The assault of a Sub Divisional Magistrate (SDM) is Anantnag district speaks volumes about the increasing arrogance bureaucrats’ show in running the public offices controlled by them. Though the probe ordered by Deputy Commissioner Anantnag to probe the charges of assaulting a teachers on the directions of the Education Minister Syed Altaf Bukhari is a welcome step but till the completion of the inquiry the SDM should have been attached with the office of the Deputy Commissioner Anantnag. Allowing the SDM to hold the charge even during the time when the charges of assault against him are being probed is tantamount to give him opportunity to influence the inquiry officer one way or the other. While the SDM had already exercised his powers against the teacher by suspending him for not attending the winter tutorials, the physical assault on the teachers not otherwise allowed in any public office can’t be defended by the SDM with the contention that the teacher was trying to block the winter tutorial. The action of SDM by all standards of understandabilities is unwarranted and he deserves the stringhent punishment for the he has committed just to insult a teacher in full public glare. Unfortunately a middle rung bureaucratic who is part of the personal staff of a senior PDP Minister took to social micro blogging website face book and put up a post in which he said ‘ well the offence of the SDM if at all believed eyes shut is condemnable offence but why people don’t talk about the teaching failing to do justice with the poor students in class room”. This post of the officer overtly and covertly defending the commendable offence of the SDM is absolutely idiotic as people reserve the right to ask him to explain his intents of linking assault on a teacher with professional duties of all the teachers working in government schools in Jammu & Kashmir.
Whatever the fault the teacher but never and never the officers at the helm are allowed to commit assaults on their subordinates for the purposes of the compliance of their orders issued for smooth working of the public offices and conduct of government business in public institutions.
Well if the contentions of the SDM are to be believed the teacher was already suspended for not attending the winter tutorial and now if at all the teacher was trying to block the winter tutorial the SDM could have stopped disbursement of salary to the teachers and order a probe to investigate his misconduct and dereliction of duty. Whatever the fault the teacher but never and never the officers at the helm are allowed to commit assaults on their subordinates for the purposes of the compliance of their orders issued for smooth working of the public offices and conduct of government business in public institutions.
