State govt asked to reply to PIL seeking dismissal

ALLAHABAD: The Allahabad high court on Tuesday sought a reply from the Uttar Pradesh government on a public interest litigation seeking the dismissal from service of IAS officer Rajeev Kumar who has been convicted in a corruption case by the special CBI court at Ghaziabad.

A division bench, comprising justice Dilip Gupta and justice R N Kakkar, asked the state government to apprise the court, within 10 days, about the steps that may have been taken against Kumar after his appeal against his conviction was set aside on February 24 last.

The bench passed its order while hearing a petition filed by former Punjab police chief Julio F Ribeiro and several other retired officers. The Tuesday’s high court order came a day after Kumar’s surrender before the CBI court which sent him to Dasna jail in Ghaziabad.The petitioner’s contention was that Rajeev Kumar has been convicted in a corruption case and his conviction has been upheld by the high court. Hence, as per rule 14(1) of All India Service (discipline and appeal) Rules ‘major punishment’ must be imposed upon him by the state government and he should be dismissed from service.

Former UP chief secretary Neera Yadav and senior IAS officer Rajeev Kumar were convicted by a CBI court at Ghaziabad on November 20, 2012, and sentenced to three years’ rigorous imprisonment with fine. They were charged with committing gross irregularities in allotment of plots and land in No ida and Greater No ida during their tenure when they were posted as chairperson and deputy CEO of Noida authority respectively.

They were convicted under section 13(2), 13(1)(d) of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

Both the officers had challenged their conviction and sentence. The high court had stayed their conviction and sentence during the pendency of the criminal appeal which was later dismissed.

Earlier, also petitioners had filed aP IL seeking the removal of Rajeev Kumar from the post of principal secretary (appointment) UP as he was convicted by a competent court. After that, he was removed from the post of principal secretary (appointment). Yadav had surrendered earlier and is in judicial custody even as her petition challenging the high court judgement, whereby her conviction was upheld, is pending before the SC.