Uttar Pradesh governor has asked the administrative reforms department (ADR) to take action against the state’s chief information commissioner Ranjit Singh Pankaj.
The governor's instruction, in a letter dated March 9, came after activists approached the governor asking for the removal of the information commissioner.
In November last year, the Allahabad High Court slapped a fine of Rs 50,000 on Pankaj for extending favours to lessee involved in illegal mining during his tenure as mining secretary in the state.
He had joined the state information commission in June.
After the court order, activists in Uttar Pradesh started making demands for his removal.
They submitted a memorandum to Governor B.L. Joshi demanding the suspension of Pankaj from the commission under section 17 (3) (b) of the Right to Information Act 2005.
Under the section, the governor can suspend the information commissioner if he has been convicted of an offence, which, in the opinion of the governor, involves moral turpitude.