HC restrains MP government from acting against whistleblower

The Madhya Pradesh High Court today directed the state government to file a reply within two days on the issue of transfer of whistleblower and Right To Information (RTI) activist Anand Rai and his wife Gauri Rai.

The bench also restrained the government from taking any action in the matter until it has filed its reply.

These directives were issued by a division bench comprising Justice P K Jaiswal and Justice T K Kaushal in response to a petition filed by the couple, their lawyer Anshuman Shrivastava told reporters here.

"While hearing the petition, we urged the bench to cancel the transfer of Rai and his wife but it was opposed by the government advocate, after which the court directed the state government to file a reply by August 6 specifying the grounds on which thery were issued transfer orders," Shrivastava said.

The bench also restrained the government from not taking any action in the matter until it filed its reply on the issue.

Rai alleged that Madhya Pradesh state government transferred him and his wife to settle scores,after he complained against powerful BJP leaders allegedly involved in the Vyapam scam.

Rai was posted as a medical officer in a government training institute in Indore and recently his attachment order to the post was abolished by the government by posting him back to his parent post to a hospital in Dhar district. His wife was also transferred from Ujjain to Dhar recently.