Delhi LG gives nod to prosecute IAS officer over forging signs of chief secretaries for appraisal

IAS officer Udit Prakash Rai has been accused of forging signatures of three secretaries of Delhi and Andaman and Nicobar Islands on his annual appraisal reports for the period 2017-2021.

Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena also recommended action by the home ministry against the IAS officer

New Delhi: Udit Prakash Rai, an IAS officer posted in Delhi, will be prosecuted for allegedly forging signatures of three secretaries of two Union territories on his annual appraisal report. This comes after Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena gave sanction for action against the civil servant.

The LG has further recommended the case to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) to take action. Rai, the accused officer is yet to react or speak in this connection.

Who is Udit Prakash Rai and what’s the case against him?

A 2007 batch IAS officer, Rai, is facing allegations of forging the signatures of his reviewing authorities, which included the chief secretaries of Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Delhi, during the period between 2017 and 2021, according to officials.

A criminal case of forgery has been registered against Rai at the IP Estate Police Station based on a complaint filed by the Special Secretary (Vigilance) of the Delhi government, they added.

The Directorate of Vigilance reported that Rai allegedly forged signatures on his annual performance appraisal reports (APARs) for the periods from April 1, 2017, to October 8, 2017, and October 9, 2017, to March 31, 2018. The signatures in question were those of his then reporting authority, S C L Das, the principal secretary (revenue) in the Andaman and Nicobar administration, and the reviewing authority, Anindo Majumdar, who was the chief secretary at the time.

In the APAR for the period from April 1, 2019, to July 30, 2019, Rai allegedly forged the signatures of his reporting authority, Vikram Dev Dutt, who was then the principal secretary (revenue) in the Andaman and Nicobar administration, and the reviewing authority, Chetan Bhushan Sanghi, who was the chief secretary of the Union territory at the time.

According to an official, Rai was serving as the District Magistrate (DM) in the Andaman and Nicobar administration. After his transfer to Delhi, he was appointed as the director (education) in the Delhi government.

In the subsequent APARs for the period from August 31, 2020, to March 31, 2021, Rai allegedly forged the signatures of his reporting authority, H Rajesh Prasad, who was then the principal secretary (education), as well as the reviewing authority, Vijay Kumar Dev, who was the chief secretary of Delhi at that time, the official claimed.

During the investigation, it was revealed that Rai had intentionally filled out his APARs manually rather than using the SPARROW Portal, citing technical glitches as the reason, the official added.

Further into the inquiry, the two officers Vijay Kumar Dev and Anindo Majumdar denied ever having reviewed Rai’s appraisal reports and confirmed he forged their signatures. This was also substantiated in a forensic report that analysed the specimens and the handwriting of the two officers and found they did not match those on Rai’s report.

The matter was previously brought to the attention of the Lieutenant Governor (LG), who, given the severity of the allegations, recommended disciplinary and criminal action against Rai, who is currently posted in Mizoram and under suspension. Since Rai is stationed outside Delhi, his case did not need to be routed through the National Capital Civil Services Authority (NCCSA).

Rai is also under suspension in connection with another corruption case, in which he is accused of accepting bribes from an engineer in the Delhi Agriculture Marketing Board while serving as its vice-chairman. Additionally, he faces charges for demolishing a heritage structure to build his official residence in Delhi’s Jal Vihar at a cost of Rs 5 crore, during his tenure as the CEO of the Delhi Jal Board (DJB).

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