HC orders removal of two 'corrupt' IAS officers from NOIDA

In a landmark verdict, the Allahabad high court on Thursday ordered immediate removal of NOIDA chairman Rakesh Bahadur and chief executive officer Sanjeev Saran on account of their shady past record.

The court also ordered a Central Bureau of Investigation probe into the alleged large scale bungling alleged to have been carried out by the two officers during their previous stint in the same capacity.

The order came in a public interest litigation highlighting how both these Indian Administrative Service officers  had  been in the dock for their indulgence in large scale financial irregularities when they were posted in NOIDA -- widely referred to in UP's  power circuit as the state's 'goldmine'.

Both the officers were placed under suspension by the previous government that had also ordered a probe against them. However, no sooner than the Samajwadi Party rode on to power in March 2012, both officers were back on these prime lucrative positions.

Shortly thereafter, NOIDA-based Madhav Samaj Kalyan Samiti moved a PIL to bring their corrupt activities on the spotlight. Taking serious note of the issues raised in the PIL, the court has now directed the government to give marching orders to both Rakesh Bahadur and Sanjeev Saran, who were alleged to have amassed huge wealth during their tenures in NOIDA.

Significantly, the court has also directed the state government not to give any posting to them in any part of Western UP.

This was one of the rare cases where top bureaucrats were removed from key positions on the direction of the judiciary, following grave charges of corruption.

Nearly a decade ago, two UP chief secretaries -- Akhand Pratap Singh and Neera Yadav -- had to abdicate their positions on the direction of the Supreme Court.

The matter was raised before the apex court through separate PILs, focusing attention on their blatant corrupt activities.