Sher Singh (IAS)

Sher Singh is an officer of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), noted for his research on the Mughal emperor Babar (also Babur), revealing the latter as a secular figure, and writing that the Babri mosque at Ayodhya had been constructed sixteen years before Babar was born. His research was conducted before the 1992 riots in Ayodhya.

The Book

Sher Singh's book "The Secular Emperor Babar", co-authored with Surinder Kaur and Tapan Sanyal in III Volumes , presented Babar as a tolerant figure, contrary to the conventional view of Babar as an intolerant fanatic.

The Case

In 1994, the Government of West Bengal filed a chargesheet against him, claiming he had violated the All India Service rules 3(1) and 6(2), and suspended him concurrently. Inquiry commission was appointed the same year.

On 11 January 2000, the commission declared him guilty as charged, and on 22 November 2000, he was dismissed from service.

Following further legal appeal from the defendant, the Central Administrative Tribunal confirmed him guilty on 10th December 2002. The case was finally brought to the Calcutta High Court, which stated that the defendant had not been secured all legal rights of which he had been the rightful claimant.

On 19 March 2006, Calcutta High Court judges Justice Bhaskar Bhattacharya and Justice K. K. Prasad dismissed all charges brought against Singh by the Government of West Bengal.

The verdict includes, besides said dismissal of charges, full compensation to be granted to Singh by the Government of West Bengal , along with availing him of his full rights and benefits as an IAS officer after retirement. The Government of West Bengal was granted two months' time to act upon this verdict.

External links

* [http://www.anandabazar.com/20cal1.htm Anandabazar Patrika's report on the verdict. (Bengali)]