The Commissioner of GST and Central Excise in Chennai, S Ravi Selvan has written a detailed letter to the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) stating that the complaint is a fabricated and malicious one.
Last week, the Madras High Court has granted an interim relief to S Ravi Selvan, has stayed all further proceedings pursuant to a sexual harassment complaint against him.
Mr. Ravi Selvan was the Principal Commissioner of Customs, when the fourth respondent who is an IRS officer lodged a sexual harassment complaint against him on 24.05.2022. The complaint was lodged accusing him of sexually harassing her, but he refuted the allegations and accused the complainant of filing a motivated complaint against him.
The officer, in his letter to the CBIC, stated that no offence is made out against him, and the complaint as such is not maintainable and the proceedings issued in pursuance of the complaint for constitution of the Committee is also liable to be revoked.
“As the complainant is an Indian Revenue Service officer, holding a senior position in the tax enforcement department and when she did not work under my charge, it cannot be said that she was barred from making the complaint at that point itself to her immediate superiors or to the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs. That alone would prove that the complaint was written as an after-thought after issuing a Memo to her by the Department for her omissions and commissions causing revenue loss,” he added.
Explaining that the complaint is a fabricated one, the officer stated that “on knowing fully well that both the officers involved in the subject matter of disciplinary proceedings i.e. ………………………. have been shifted from GST to Customs House, the complainant apart from the afore mentioned reasons exposing her three fold intentions had deliberately made a statement as if during December 2021 both the complainant and myself had worked at Customs House Building so that the Internal Committee could be constituted to her advantage.”
“In the meantime, the act of the Committee Member, …………………… in indiscriminately and hastily calling the Officers and recording statements even prior to the receipt of my explanation/ the last date fixed for the same, especially in a matter involving a malicious and motivated complaint in order to escape from the clutches of disciplinary proceedings pertaining to a huge scam would be against the principles of natural justice, fair-play, equity and good conscience,” he said.
“Prior to this malicious and motivated complaint, …………………… has never made any allegation against me to any other quarter. Even now, the majority portion of her complaint, except in pages in 1 & 2, she covers up the fraud of hers and others involved the said file giving benefit to a private individual thereby causing huge loss to the Government exchequer,” he added.
He further pointed out that vigilance action has already been recommended against the Officers, involved in the said Scam including these 3, IRS Officers and file has been submitted to the Principal Chief Commissioner, Tamil Nadu & Puducherry GST/CX Zone, on 14.6.2022, for forwarding to the Principal Director General, Directorate General of Vigilance New Delhi, as Ms. …………………… did not file her reply even after 106 days.
“I humbly submit that the whole episode of omissions and commissions of the tainted Officers and the people associated in the Scam, need a thorough probe. If this type of motivated, mala-fide, ill-intended complaint of sexual harassment is kept open, in future no official can take action against any erring official,” he concluded.
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