The Jammu and Kashmir government on Tuesday evening initiated disciplinary action against 2010-batch IAS examination topper Shah Faesal for a tweet by him about frequent rapes, which was seen by the Centre's Department of Personnel and Training as his failure to maintain absolute honesty and integrity in discharge of duties.
In a notice to Faesal, the General Administration Department said, "You have allegedly failed to maintain absolute honesty and integrity in the discharge of official duty and thus acted in a manner unbecoming of a public servant."
The GAD initiated the disciplinary proceedings against Faesal at the request of the Centre's Department of Personnel and Training, sources said.
Faesal had posted a tweet saying, "Population +patriarchy +illiteracy +alcohol +porn +technology +anarchy = rapistan". This post drew the ire of the DoPT.
Faesal, who is currently pursuing a mid-career masters programme in the US, brushed aside the notice.
"Love letter from my boss for my sarcastic tweet against rape-culture in South Asia. The Irony here is that service rules with a colonial spirit are invoked in a democratic India to stifle the freedom of conscience. I'm sharing this to underscore the need for a rule change," Faesal wrote on his Twitter handle, while posting the copy of the notice with it.
Commenting on the issue, National Conference leader Omar Abdullah said the DoPT seemed to be determined to chase Faesal out of the civil services.
"Looks like the DOPT is determined to chase @shahfaesal out of the civil services. The last line of this page is shocking & unacceptable where they question Faesal's integrity & honesty. How is a sarcastic tweet dishonest? How does it make him corrupt?" Abdullah asked in a tweet.