Shimla: In the ongoing controversy surrounding the death of Chief Engineer Vimal Negi of Himachal Pradesh Power Corporation Ltd (HPPCL), Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Onkar Chand Sharma, who led the fact-finding inquiry, declined a formal request to modify his report to incorporate rebuttals from three senior HPPCL officials, according to a news report published in an English daily.
The request, made by Secretary (Power) Rakesh Kanwar via a letter dated May 14, sought the inclusion of statements from Harikesh Meena (Managing Director), Shivam Pratap (Director, Personnel) and Desh Raj (Director, Electrical). These officers had been named in allegations raised by Vimal Negi’s family.
Sharma had earlier submitted the 66-page report to the Power Department on April 8, sealed and subsequently presented before the Himachal Pradesh High Court.
In his response dated May 15, Sharma wrote, “It will not be justifiable to delete, add or review the fact-finding inquiry report in the ends of law and justice. Therefore, the inquiry report is not altered or reviewed and returned in original along with the record.”
While Kanwar argued that the inquiry report made observations against the officers without giving them a fair chance to respond, calling it a violation of natural justice, Sharma countered that all three had appeared during the inquiry and given their versions. Their statements, he noted, were signed and recorded as per due process.
“The right of rebuttal applies only in the context of a formal departmental inquiry,” Sharma noted in his reply. “This was a preliminary, fact-finding exercise, not a disciplinary proceeding.”
Kanwar also criticised Sharma’s inquiry for allegedly overstepping its scope, but Sharma dismissed that charge, writing: “The department seems to have overlooked the fact that this was solely a fact-finding exercise. The allegations that I exceeded the scope of the inquiry are entirely baseless.”
He emphasised that the inquiry adhered to legal norms. Though a fact-finding probe does not mandate involving accused officers, Sharma said he voluntarily included them to ensure transparency and fairness.
“To meet the ends of justice, I not only included the said officers in the inquiry but also gave them the opportunity to present their defence,” Sharma wrote. “At no point during the inquiry did these officers claim that natural justice was denied to them.”
The fact-finding inquiry was ordered to probe management-related complaints following the death of Vimal Negi, a case that has triggered widespread scrutiny of internal functioning and accountability within the HPPCL.
TNR
