Chandigarh: The Haryana Government has refused to grant permission to the State Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) to investigate four senior IAS officers in connection with the multi-crore Faridabad Municipal Corporation (MC) scam. The officers in question had served as MC Commissioners of Faridabad at various times and are named across five FIRs registered between 2022 and 2023.
The decision is being seen as a significant setback to the ongoing corruption probes, as the ACB is now legally barred from taking any investigative action against the officers without the state’s approval under Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act (PC Act).
What Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act Says
As per Section 17A of the amended Prevention of Corruption Act, no police officer is permitted to conduct any inquiry or investigation into alleged offences by a public servant without prior approval of the government. This provision was introduced in 2018 to protect honest officials from vexatious probes, but critics argue it can be misused to shield wrongdoers.
FIRs Span Massive Cost Escalations, Alleged Fake Work Orders
The ACB has registered at least five FIRs linked to the alleged inflated project costs, fake tenders, cost escalations, and irregular payments for civic works in Faridabad during the tenure of different MC commissioners.
FIR No. 11 (March 24, 2022)
- Officer Involved: IAS Yash Garg
- Allegations: Cost enhancement of paver block work in Ward 14 from ₹53.82 lakh to ₹1.97 crore
- Main Accused: Contractor Satbir Singh
- Status: Permission denied for Garg; earlier granted for Sonal Goel and Anita Yadav
FIR No. 13 (April 19, 2022)
- Officer Involved: Yash Garg
- Allegations: ₹1.26 crore paid to Satbir Singh for interlocking work across 7 wards despite no visible work
- Status: Permission denied for Garg; granted earlier for Goel (currently under HC challenge)
FIR No. 21 (June 16, 2022)
- Officers Involved: Sonal Goel, Mohd Shayin
- Allegations: ₹1.76 crore paid to contractor without any tenders
- Status: Permission denied for both officers
FIR No. 23 (July 15, 2022)
- Officers Involved: Shayin, Goel, Yadav, Garg
- Allegations: Cost escalation from ₹25 lakh to nearly ₹2 crore in two days for interlocking tiles
- Status: Sanction refused for all four officers
FIR No. 24 (September 5, 2023)
- Officer Named: Anita Yadav
- Allegations: Fake dispatch numbers, inflated costs for road divider project (₹27.52 lakh to ₹4.94 crore)
- Status: Permission denied for Shayin, Garg, Goel; only Yadav remains under probe
‘Selective Targeting’, Says IAS Officer Anita Yadav
Reacting to the government’s decision, IAS officer Anita Yadav told The Tribune, “I have been singled out, whereas Shayin, Garg and Goel were similarly placed. I will approach the High Court against this pick and choose.”
Yadav is the only officer among the four not shielded by the state’s refusal in the latest FIR. Sources close to the investigation say her statement may trigger fresh legal scrutiny of the state’s decision-making process.
High Court Petitions and Legal Tangles Ahead
IAS officer Sonal Goel, whose name appears in multiple FIRs, had earlier received sanction for investigation in two of them. However, she has already challenged the approval in the High Court, and proceedings are ongoing.
Meanwhile, the state’s repeated refusal to grant sanction to investigate senior officers has sparked concern among anti-corruption activists and former bureaucrats, who argue that the move undermines accountability and the morale of investigating agencies.
Allegations: From Fake Work Orders to Bypassing Tender Norms
The common thread across the FIRs is the alleged manipulation of official processes to benefit certain contractors. These include:
- Splitting large projects into smaller ones to bypass tendering procedures
- Issuing fake or backdated work orders
- Approving cost escalations in projects within days, allegedly without due process
- Making payments without completion certificates or on-ground verification
All major allegations involve Contractor Satbir Singh, who has been consistently named as the main accused.
Conclusion: Without Sanction, No Progress
Despite mounting evidence in the FIRs and documents seized, the ACB remains powerless to proceed without sanction under Section 17A. Unless challenged successfully in court, the rejection effectively stalls all progress on cases involving senior bureaucrats, even as lower-ranking officials and private contractors remain under the scanner.
