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Haryana: ACB charge sheets 8 officers for irregularities in 2001 HPSC recruitment
In the charge sheet filed by the ACB and presented in the court of Hisar sessions judge Dinesh Kumar Mittal, the agency has named eight serving HCS officers – Veena Hooda, Surender Singh-1, Jagdeep Dhanda, Dr Sarita Malik, Kamlesh Bhadoo, Kuldhir Singh, Vatsal Vashisht and Jag Niwas – as accused in the recruitment process
The Haryana anti-corruption bureau (ACB) has ‘arraigned as accused’ eight Haryana Civil Services (HCS) officers for irregularities and malpractices in the recruitment process of the 2001 HCS and Allied Services (Executive Branch) Examination during the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) regime, officials said.
According to the ACB, a total of 29 people, including former six Haryana Public Service Commission (HPSC) functionaries, eight serving and one retired HCS officer, a former HPSC secretary, four allied services officers and nine paper checkers have been arraigned in a charge sheet presented in the court of Hisar sessions judge, Dinesh Kumar Mittal.
“The ACB headed by director general Shatrujeet Kapur is probing allegations of selections having been made on political and extraneous considerations”, said officials.
In the charge sheet filed by the ACB and presented in the court of Hisar sessions judge Dinesh Kumar Mittal, the agency has named eight serving HCS officers – Veena Hooda, Surender Singh-1, Jagdeep Dhanda, Dr Sarita Malik, Kamlesh Bhadoo, Kuldhir Singh, Vatsal Vashisht and Jag Niwas – as accused in the recruitment process. Others who have been named include a retired HCS officer– Ranjit Kaur, and four allied services officers – Ashok Kumar, Rakesh Kumar, Poonam Nara and Dilbagh Singh.
The ACB didn’t need to take prosecution sanction for the eight HCS officers as they were private individuals when they appeared for the controversial exam, said officials familiar with the development.
Former HPSC chairperson KC Bangar, former IAS officer Hardeep Singh, who was the HPSC secretary when the alleged irregularities took place, former HPSC members MS Shastri, Dayal Singh, Narender Vidyalanakar, Jagdish Rai and NN Yadav, who presided over the 2001 HCS selections, have also been arraigned as accused, the ACB said.
Moreover, nine paper checkers or examiners – Prof Joseph Cherian Kappan, Dr Maheshwari Prasad, Professor V Chandra Mouli, Dr RK Boss, Prof Pushpinder Kumar, Jagdish Singh, Darvesh Gopal, SK Verma and Professor Prem Sagar Chaturvedi, have also been named in the charge sheet.
Taking note of the charge sheet produced by the ACB, the Hisar sessions judge has issued a notice to all the accused persons for August 10 and has directed Panchkula Sharif Singh, deputy superintendent of police, ACB, to provide hard copies of the challan of all the accused within 20 days.
According to officials familiar with the matter, President Droupadi Murumu had on June 7 accorded sanction to prosecute the former HPSC functionaries in a court of law for offences punishable under the Prevention of Corruption Act for allegedly misusing their official position in the conduct of examinations conducted by the HPSC during then chief minister Om Prakash Chautala-led INLD rule in Haryana.
The Haryana government had on December 14, 2022, sent a request to issue a sanction for prosecution against the former chairperson and members for misuse of their official position in the conduct of 2001 and 2004 HSC (executive branch) and allied services exams and selections of assistant professors and lecturers in Chaudhary Devi Lal Memorial Engineering College, Panniwala Mota in Sirsa based on investigations done by the State Vigilance Bureau (now called anti-corruption bureau) in a first information report (FIR) registered on October 18, 2005, at Vigilance Bureau police station, Hisar.
The FIR number 20 was registered under sections 420, 467, 468, 471, 120 B of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and sections 7 and 13 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, against the former chairperson and members for alleged misuse of their official position in making appointments, illegal gratification, during 2001 to 2004 period on various posts, the reference sent to the President reads.
The President’s sanction to prosecute communicated by the Union personnel ministry to the Haryana government on June 7 said the perusal of Vigilance Bureau records revealed that these former HPSC functionaries “misused their official position and showed undue favour for illegal gratification and committed irregularities resulting in the selection of ineligible candidates at the cost of eligible candidates, thereby committing offences punishable under Sections 420, 467, 468, 471, 120-B IPC and sections 7 and 13 of PC Act”.
“The President, after carefully examining the material before her, including a copy of the FIR, investigation and forensic reports and other relevant documents, has concluded that prima facie, a case for an alleged offence under sections 7 (offence related to public servant being bribed and 13 (2) (criminal misconduct by a public servant) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, and various sections of the IPC is made out against the above-named persons. Therefore the President being the competent authority to remove these public servants from office under Article 317 of the Constitution considers that prima facie, a case for alleged offences under section 7, 13(1)(a) and (d) read with 13(2)) of Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 is made out against the these former HPSC functionaries and the said functionaries should be prosecuted in the court of law. The President, at this moment, accords sanction for prosecution under Section 19(1) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, against these former HPSC functionaries for their prosecution in the court of law,” the sanction order reads.
