E-Paper
HCS selections: Eight serving HCS officers arraigned as accused by anti-corruption bureau
The Hisar sessions judge has issued a notice to all the accused persons for August 10 and directed DSP, ACB, Sharif Singh to provide hard copies of the challan to the accused within 20 days
: Eight serving Haryana Civil Services (HCS) officers have been arraigned as accused by the state anti-corruption bureau in a case pertaining to alleged irregularities and malpractices committed by the Haryana Public Service Commission (HPSC) in the recruitment process of 2001 HCS and Allied Services (executive branch) Examination during the regime of the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD).
A total of 29 persons, including six former Haryana Public Service Commission (HPSC) functionaries, eight serving and one retired HCS officer, a former IAS officer, four allied services officers and nine paper checkers have been arraigned in a chargesheet presented by the ACB 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.
The eight serving HCS officers arraigned as accused by the ACB are Veena Hooda, Surender Singh-1, Jagdeep Dhanda, Dr Sarita Malik, Kamlesh Bhadoo, Kuldhir Singh, Vatsal Vashisht and Jag Niwas, the ACB officials said.
The bureau didn’t need to take prosecution sanction for the eight HCS officers as they were private individuals when they appeared for the controversial exam. A retired HCS officer Ranjit Kaur has also been named. Four allied services officers Ashok Kumar, Rakesh Kumar, Poonam Nara and Dilbagh Singh have been named in the chargesheet.
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.
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 Chatruvedi have also been named in the chargesheet, the ACB officials said.
The Hisar sessions judge has issued a notice to all the accused persons for August 10 and directed DSP, ACB, Sharif Singh to provide hard copies of the challan to the accused within 20 days.
President Droupadi Murmu had on June 7 accorded sanction to prosecute the former HPSC functionaries in a court of law for offences punishable under Prevention of Corruption Act for allegedly misusing their official position in conduct of examinations conducted by the HPSC during the INLD rule in Haryana with former chief minister Om Prakash Chautala at the helm.
The Haryana government had on December 14, 2022 sent a request to issue sanction for prosecution against the former chairperson and members for misuse of their official position in conduct of 2001 and 2004 Haryana Civil Services (executive branch) and allied services exams and selections of assistant professors and lecturers in Chaudhary Devi Lal Memorial Engineering College, Panniwala Mota in Sirsa on the basis of investigations done by the state vigilance bureau ( now called anti-corruption bureau) in a first information report of October 18, 2005 registered at vigilance bureau police station in Hisar.
The FIR number 20 was registered under sections 420, 467, 468, 471, 120 B of the IPC and section 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, including the selection for HCS and other allied services exam in 2001 and 2004 and assistant professors and lecturers in Chaudhary Devi Lal Memorial Engineering College, selecting ineligible candidates and neglecting suitable and eligible candidates, the reference sent to the President reads.
The President’s sanction to prosecute communicated by the Union Personnel Ministry to Haryana government on June 7 said the perusal 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 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 the 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 come to the conclusion that prima facie, a case for 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, hereby, 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.
