Representative image NEW DELHI: The personnel department (DoPT) on Friday afternoon cancelled a food ministry order to suspend an executive director of Food Corporation of India (FCI), treating it as “non-est” — which means legally non-existent from the beginning.Officials said such an order is a rare instance. ED in FCI is equivalent to a joint secretary level officer at Centre.The DoPT order that came just four days after the food ministry suspended the Indian Audit and Accounts Service (IAAS) officer said “placing Ashutosh Joshi under suspension is treated as non-est”. DoPT ordered his immediate repatriation to the parent cadre.TOI has learnt that the food ministry had gone ahead with disciplinary proceedings following a “neutral committee” probe that found alleged irregularities, including diversion, in the sale of rice to North Eastern Regional Agricultural Marketing Corporation Limited (NERAMAC) under the Open Market Sale Scheme (domestic) by FCI’s Delhi region.The DoPT order mentioned that the Controlled and Auditor General of India, on Thursday, had requested the DoPT for repatriation of the officer to parent cadre.There was no response from the food ministry to repeated query on why its suspension order was treated null and void.Officials said that while four other executives of FCI have also been suspended based on the findings of the “neutral committee”, it remains to be seen what happens to their fate after the recent development.Meanwhile, on July 6 itself, the food ministry set up a “review and restructuring” of the organisational framework in FCI to “improve administrative efficiency, eliminate ambiguity in decision making and fixing responsibility in future”.The four-member committee has been asked to submit its recommendations in six weeks. It has been tasked to review the functional responsibility of the ED level and other intermediary officers.Get the latest India news and live updates. Download the TOI App.End of ArticleFollow Us On Social MediaVideosBig Setback To Mamata Banerjee As Loyalist Anubrata Mandal Joins Ritabrata-Led Rebel CampOperation Lotus In Kashmir? CM Omar Abdullah Claims BJP Offered NC MLAs Rs 20-30 Crore In JammuSIA Kashmir Secures Interpol Red Corner Notice Against Hizbul Terrorist KandooWhat India Gained From PM Modi’s New Zealand Visit: Defence, Trade, Indo-Pacific & More15 Indian Tourists Confirmed Dead As Speedboat Capsizes Off Vietnam’s Phu Quoc IslandSonam Wangchuk Rejects ‘Modern Gandhi’ Label As Hunger Strike Enters Fourteenth Day In DelhiSupriya Sule Dismisses Pawar-Shinde Meeting Row, Calls It A ‘Storm In A Tea Cup’ Amid SpeculationINS Mahendragiri Joins Indian Navy, Boosting Maritime Power Amid Indo-Pacific Challenges | WatchHighway Blocked, Resignations Threatened As BJP Faces Backlash Over Ticket Choice In MPNEET Paper Leak Traced To Contracted Paper Setters, Charge Sheet Likely This Month | Watch123PhotostoriesWhy India is facing a diabetes explosion: Stanford’s top 2% scientist reveals the hidden reasons Indians develop it younger than the rest of the worldFrom Priyanka Chopra to Ananya Panday: 5 best Wimbledon looks ever worn by Indian celebritiesChristopher Nolan’s best films to watch, ahead of ‘The Odyssey’: From ‘Oppenheimer’ to ‘Memento’10 foods that quietly contain too much saltWHO warns global cancer cases could nearly double by 2050; lifestyle changes, pollution and delayed diagnosis are fueling the riseAnkur Warikoo’s viral post on love after 20 years of marriage is striking a chord online10 foods that originated in India but became famous around the worldAlia Bhatt elevates a classic silk saree with modern draping at Akansha Ranjan Kapoor’s wedding festivitiesStylish Shubman Gill joins Anjali Sachin Tendulkar at Wimbledon 2026; fans ask, ‘Where is Sara?’World’s 10 most populous cities in 2026 every traveller should know123Hot PicksTravis Kelce and Taylor SwiftBlake LivelyAlex OvechkinJayden Adams DeathAlex PereiraJayden Adams Net WorthNico HischierStrait of HormuzSimone BilesTop TrendingWilliam NylanderVietnam Boat AccidentTelangana Techie Wife MurderFIFA World Cup 2026Chhattisgarh Student MurderTS EAMCET Phase 1 seat allotmentRamesh MhatreDelhi NCR rainGurgaon EncounterIran war
NEW DELHI: The personnel department (DoPT) on Friday afternoon cancelled a food ministry order to suspend an executive director of Food Corporation of India (FCI), treating it as “non-est” — which means legally non-existent from the beginning.Officials said such an order is a rare instance. ED in FCI is equivalent to a joint secretary level officer at Centre.The DoPT order that came just four days after the food ministry suspended the Indian Audit and Accounts Service (IAAS) officer said “placing Ashutosh Joshi under suspension is treated as non-est”. DoPT ordered his immediate repatriation to the parent cadre.TOI has learnt that the food ministry had gone ahead with disciplinary proceedings following a “neutral committee” probe that found alleged irregularities, including diversion, in the sale of rice to North Eastern Regional Agricultural Marketing Corporation Limited (NERAMAC) under the Open Market Sale Scheme (domestic) by FCI’s Delhi region.The DoPT order mentioned that the Controlled and Auditor General of India, on Thursday, had requested the DoPT for repatriation of the officer to parent cadre.There was no response from the food ministry to repeated query on why its suspension order was treated null and void.Officials said that while four other executives of FCI have also been suspended based on the findings of the “neutral committee”, it remains to be seen what happens to their fate after the recent development.Meanwhile, on July 6 itself, the food ministry set up a “review and restructuring” of the organisational framework in FCI to “improve administrative efficiency, eliminate ambiguity in decision making and fixing responsibility in future”.The four-member committee has been asked to submit its recommendations in six weeks. It has been tasked to review the functional responsibility of the ED level and other intermediary officers.
