Gujarat: Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer Kannan Gopinath has been asked to resume his duty after he quit in protest over the denial of freedom of expression to residents of Jammu and Kashmir.

Authorities requested the 33-year-old IAS officer to continue working at his post since his resignation had not been accepted yet.

Gopinathan resigned from his post as the Power Department Secretary of the Union Territories of Daman and Diu, and Dadra and Nagar Haveli by submitting a letter to the Home Ministry on August 21.

However, in a notice signed by Daman and Diu Personnel Department Deputy Secretary Gurpreet Singh, Gopinathan was directed to resume his assigned duties since the resignation of a government officer “becomes effective when it is accepted.”

Officials pasted the notice on the door of a government guesthouse in Silvassa after finding that Gopinathan was not present there.

Earlier, he was also served a show-cause notice by the Home Ministry of India for his actions.

Speaking to PTI, Gopinathan said that he was aware of the Personnel Department’s notice but declined to comment any further.

Gopinathan, a native of the Kottayam district in Kerala, had previously said that the people of J&K had a right to speak up on the Indian government’s decision to abrogate Article 370 from the Constitution.

“After taking the decision on Kashmir, nearly 20 days have passed and even now, the people there are not allowed to react or respond to it and that is not acceptable in a democratic set-up. Personally, I could not accept it and continue in the service during such a time,” he had added.