Governor C.V. Ananda Bose Recommends Action Against Chief Secretary and IPS Officials

In a letter to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Governor C.V. Ananda Bose recommended severe punishment for Chief Secretary B.P. Gopalika and two high-ranking Indian Police Service (IPS) officials, Vineet Kumar Goyal, the Commissioner of City Police, and Indira Mukherjee, the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Central Division.

Bose accused the officers in two letters to Shah, dated June 6 and June 20, of disobeying the rules governing officers in the All India Services (AIS).

According to a ministry source, the correspondence with Shah was "unprecedented" since it included specific notes and examples of the officers' alleged actions as "willing accomplices in the misdeeds of the ruling dispensation, in violation of the laws of the land," in violation of the AIS conduct rules.

"Reports are sent by governors to the Center. But in my more than 20 years of service, I haven't seen anything comparable. The source, who is aware of the events in the North Block as a result of Bose's June 20 letter to Shah, remarked, "It is unprecedented."

Bose wrote in the letter dated June 6 that "the conduct of two Indian Police Service officers, the Commissioner of Police in Kolkata and the Deputy Commissioner, Central Division, Kolkata, and a senior member of the Indian Administrative Service, who is currently serving as the Chief Secretary to the Government of West Bengal, clearly reveals how these officers have been brazenly violating the provisions of the Constitution and the Conduct Rules in particular." Should no action be taken against these negligent officers, it may send the incorrect message later on, worsening the Services and ultimately hurting the interests of the country.

In addition to breaking AIS regulations, the governor charged Gopalika with "aiding and abetting corruption." Bose brought up the mess surrounding vice-chancellor hiring and jobs, as well as the purported lawlessness in the state.

The allegations against Goyal and Mukherjee, who are connected to an investigation investigating claims of sexual misdemeanor against the governor, are contained in the letter dated June 20.

The revelation of Bose's letters coincides with conjecture over his potential expulsion from Bengal.

Numerous explanations have been mentioned, including the overall trend of a turnover at Raj Bhavan following the swearing-in of a new regime in Delhi and doubts about Bose held by a segment of state BJP officials.

"The formal response to his letters has started... Therefore, it makes no difference if he continues," the insider stated.

On November 22, 2022, Bose was appointed governor of Bengal, a position he has held with mixed results. His relationship with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who oversaw the governor's introduction of Bengali alphabets, started out well until allegedly collapsing due to his "hyper activism" at the request of the saffron movement.

He has had multiple run-ins with the Trinamool Congress over the past 16 months. The party has accused him of being a stooge of the Centre and has gone all out against him following the revelation of sexual harassment claims made by a dancer in January 2023 and a Raj Bhavan staff member in May 2024.

The contents of the correspondence to Shah made it evident that Bose was attempting to clear himself of the sexual accusations, which he had previously referred to as a "sinister plot," even though he enumerated a number of alleged transgressions by the two top police officers in the June 20 letter.

Bose claims that the two cops are using bogus cases to defame him.

Bose called Goyal and Mukherjee "delinquent" in his correspondence, accusing them of "objectionable conduct against the constitutional head of the state" and "flouting the Constitution and the law of the land." To "put the house in order," he called for "exemplary action" to be taken against them.

"The ministry is considering the letters seriously enough... Based on the governor's writings, it will request an explanation from the state government," the person continued.

The letter dated June 20th raises a number of broad concerns about the perceived status of affairs in Bengal, including the police's purported role in "subserving political masters," the absence of "democratic proprieties" in governance, and the purported suppression of any opposition to the ruling regime. It also emphasizes the guidelines that the officers are expected to adhere to.

Bose said in the note against Goyal that some victims of violence following the poll had been arrested by the police while they were en route to Raj Bhavan for a prearranged meeting with him. He stated, "This is a flagrant violation of people's rights to express their concerns and seek redress."

In a more in-depth section of the note titled "highlighting and promoting concocted cases against Raj Bhavan establishment," Bose accuses Goyal of pressuring a temporary Raj Bhavan employee to file a criminal complaint against him on May 2, 2024, just hours before Prime Minister Narendra Modi was due to arrive.

Bose continued by saying that even though the city police commissioner was aware that "Article 361 of the Constitution of India bars the institution/continuance of any criminal proceedings against the constitutional head of state," he nevertheless formed a special investigation team "with indecent haste."

He said, "Goyal has not only degraded the office of the governor through his dishonest, unlawful, and unconstitutional acts, but he has also conducted himself in a way that is wholly inappropriate for a public servant."

With the exception of the particular charge that an IPS officer spoke to the media about the claims with "added colour and flavour," all of the accusations against Mukherjee, the lead investigator of the Special Investigation Team looking into Bose's assertions, are similar.

Bose stated he was "constrained to point out that section of both the Police and the Administration are engaged vigorously in subserving political masters in complete disregard of their lawful obligations" in the letter dated June 6.

"The administration is operating in political captivity, and the police are working as a private force. All democratic norms are stripped from governance, and authoritarianism is demonstrated by the suppression of any resistance to the governing regime," the author stated.

"A number of Indian Administrative Service and Indian Police Service personnel stationed in West Bengal State have consistently disregarded the Constitution and act as though they have no consequences. They have shown themselves to stay mute while carrying out the crooked decisions made by the ruling party, Bose continued.

The sexual harassment case reached the legal system when three Raj Bhavan employees—a woman staffer in the pantry, an officer on special duty, and a peon—moved the Calcutta High Court to request anticipatory bail and pleaded to have a FIR against them for “wrongful restraint” of the junior employee who had filed charges of physical harassment against the governor. The governor enjoys constitutional immunity, so no charges could be brought against Bose in this case.

Hearing the matter, Calcutta High Court Judge Amrita Sinha on May 25 ordered the police to put a report on their investigation on June 10, the day the court reopened after a 15-day summer break, and postponed the police's probe against the three Raj Bhavan employees until June 17. The case hasn't been heard yet, though.

Defamation lawsuit

The court of Justice Krishna Rao is expected to hear Bose's defamation case against Mamata on Wednesday. In his plea, the governor claimed that in an attempt to damage his reputation, the chief minister and a few leaders of the ruling party had made up claims of molestation against him.

Tuesday, attorney Dhiraj Trivedi made a request for an early hearing in the defamation case before Justice Rao. "The governor's reputation has been regularly tarnished by the chief minister and his fellow politicians. This needs to end right away. So, the attorney said, hear the matter immediately.

The magistrate gave the attorney his word that he would attempt to hear the matter on Wednesday.