JCC refutes Nagaland government’s claim on IAS induction, terms it ‘procedural manipulation’

DIMAPUR — The Joint Coordination Committee (JCC) comprising CANSSEA, FONSESA, NIDA, NSSA, and NF&ASA has issued a statement countering the Nagaland government’s remarks on the controversy surrounding the IAS induction process, terming it a case of “procedural manipulation” rather than a “bureaucratic lapse.”

The JCC contended that while the government spokesperson had attributed the controversy to an “error” that occurred because the circular was neither placed before the chief minister nor approved by the Cabinet prior to issuance, the same authority had earlier issued an identical order on July 6, 2020, with the chief minister’s approval, from which a candidate was subsequently inducted into the IAS.

It maintained that if the alleged lapse was procedural, the proper course of action would have been to rectify it rather than withdraw the circular, noting that Clause 4 of the circular “does not violate the principle of meritocracy.”

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According to the JCC, the clause strengthens governance by ensuring that candidates entering the IAS through non-State Civil Service (non-SCS) quota have been recruited via the Nagaland Public Service Commission (NPSC).

The committee “condemned” the government spokesperson’s “misstatement” regarding the names of non-SCS officers inducted into the IAS in the past, calling the list “biased, incomplete and factually incorrect,” and stated that it “defames NPSC-qualified IAS officers” who have been categorised as non-NPSC.

“The same circular with the same eligibility criteria was again advertised on March 10, 2025, only to be retracted to accommodate an applicant whose appointment and entry into service is irregular, thus violative of Article 16 of the Constitution,” the JCC stated, claiming that the withdrawal reflected “favouritism, nepotism and premeditated preference” for a particular candidate.

The committee added that it had submitted several representations to the government since March 2025, seeking dialogue on the issue, but received no response.

While acknowledging that the Cabinet holds discretionary powers over policy matters, the JCC urged the government to exercise fairness and uphold merit in its decisions. It expressed hope that the recently constituted sub-committee on IAS induction would act “in the welfare of the state and in the larger interest of the people.”

The committee further demanded the restoration of Clause 4 of the March 10, 2025 vacancy circular and the withdrawal of “non-NPSC appointees” from the panel list forwarded to the Union Public Service Commission.