A senior Haryana IAS officer has complained to the Election Commission that the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) has sought an approval from the state government for registration of an FIR against him at a time when he is on election duty in Chennai, Tamil Nadu.
A principal secretary-level IAS officer, D Suresh is a Haryana cadre officer of 1995 batch. He is principal resident commissioner at Haryana Bhawan in New Delhi and principal secretary, human resources department in the state government. He is already facing an FIR in connection with Gurgaon plot case in which he is accused of causing financial losses to state exchequer, an allegation denied by him.
The ACB says that it has sought approval for an FIR after receiving complaints in three cases of plot re-allotment. In 2019, Suresh was chief administrator of Haryana Urban Development Authority (now HSVP) and decided several matters of plot allotments while exercising quasi-judicial powers.
In his communication to the EC on Saturday, the IAS officer informed the poll panel that “in spite of the fact that I’m on election observer’s duty in Chennai Central parliamentary constituency and discharging my constitutional obligations, the ACB had the audacity to send an illegal proposal to the Chief Secretary for registration of an FIR against me and two of my former colleagues for passing quasi-judicial orders more than five years ago”.
“This was done deliberately and surreptitiously so that a quick approval could be taken for registration of FIR and such approval could be obtained easily in my absence without my being able to contest it officially,” the IAS officer has written in his letter.
Raising further questions on the timing of seeking registration of an FIR against him, Suresh said that “either they (ACB officials) are unaware of the fact that they are all on deemed deputation to the Election Commission of India and they feel that they are above law or law unto themselves”. The IAS officer has also blamed the ACB officials “for creating hurdles in discharge of my constitutional obligations as election observer”.
However, a senior officer of the ACB has dismissed his allegations. “An officer is always on some duty, so it’s not fair to say that the approval was being sought in his or her absence. The file for approval for registration of an FIR against an IAS officer is sent to the Chief Secretary and it is not routed through the officer, who is facing allegations, if he is here or somewhere else,” said the ACB officer requesting anonymity.
A senior officer of the state government said: “In such cases, the state government may hold its decision till the election duty of the officer or may seek his comments before taking a call. The Election Commission too may refer the matter to the state government for seeking its response.”
In July 2023, the Haryana government had granted approval for an investigation against Suresh in an FIR lodged in connection with financial loss to the state exchequer by re-allotting a school site in Gurgaon in 2019. The ACB had sought the government approval under Section 17-A of the Prevention of Corruption Act to launch an investigation against him. It was alleged that the school site was re-allotted to a society in 2019 at the rates prevailing in 1993, thus causing a financial loss to Haryana Shehri Vikas Pradhikaran (HSVP).
This was the first case in recent years when the state government had granted approval to the ACB (earlier, State Vigilance Bureau) to probe such a senior IAS officer in an FIR.
