Retired IAS officer, 11 others face corruption FIRs over Gurugram plots

The cases concern two HSVP land parcels allegedly reallocated despite earlier allotments to specific persons, officials said.

A retired IAS officer of the Haryana government and 11 others have been booked in two corruption cases for allegedly approving the reallocation of two Haryana Shehri Vikas Pradhikaran (HSVP) land parcels in Gurugram in violation of laws, Haryana state vigilance and anti-corruption bureau officials said on Wednesday.

Retired IAS officer, 11 others face corruption FIRs over Gurugram plots

The FIRs were registered under the Prevention of Corruption Act at the ACB police station in Gurugram on August 26, officials said. The alleged scam took place between 2017 and 2019, when the retired bureaucrat was serving as the chief administrator of the HSVP in Panchkula.

A senior ACB official, preferring not to be named, said the official had allegedly violated rules and regulations to approve the reallocation of two HSVP land parcels in Gurugram to other persons on different dates, despite the plots already being allotted to two specific persons. The land parcels were located in Sector-23 and Sector-39, the official said.

ACB officials said three government officials and a private person were named as accused in the first FIR, while four officials and four private persons were accused in the second FIR. The retired IAS officer is common to both cases, as he allegedly approved both reallocations.

“The sanction approval was forwarded to the ACB in Gurugram on August 3. The drafts of both FIRs were sent to the head office on August 13, on which approval finally arrived on August 25, following which both FIRs were registered immediately on the very next day,” another official said.

Meanwhile, the retired IAS officer moved the Punjab and Haryana High Court to challenge the FIRs. His lawyers submitted that the cases were a witch-hunt, as he was to superannuate on Monday, and alleged that they were filed to stop him from receiving retirement benefits.

Counsel for the retired officer argued that no offences were made out prima facie after amendment of the PC Act and that the standard operating procedure of the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions was not followed while granting sanction for the investigation.

Deepak Sabharwal and Aakash Singla, additional advocate generals, submitted that no mala-fide was involved and all procedures were followed.

Deputy superintendent of police Arjun Rathi, ACB (Gurugram), told the high court that seven days’ advance notice would be issued if the retired officer’s custody was required for the investigation.