The Jharkhand High Court has granted significant relief to Santosh Kumar Dubey, formerly posted as the Senior Commandant of the Railway Protection Force (RPF). A stay on his early retirement has been given by the High Court.
At the moment, Santosh Kumar Dubey is assigned to Lucknow as a DIG RPF. On July 10, 2013, the CBI in Danapur, Patna, launched a case of disproportionate assets worth Rs 1.48 crore against Santosh Kumar Dubey, who was then assigned to the RPF divisions in Chakradharpur, Dhanbad, and Ranchi.
Following this, Santosh Kumar Dubey was the target of a departmental action order issued by RPF New Delhi. The CBI discovered that the majority of Santosh Kumar Dubey’s postings were located in Jharkhand. He has been charged with amassing assets that are out of proportion to his income during this time. The CBI looked into Santosh Kumar Dubey’s period of disproportionate asset accumulation between 1998 and 2013.
On June 28, 2022, the CBI filed an indictment against Santosh Kumar Dubey, his wife Priya Dubey, and other individuals. Following this, on July 22, 2022, CBI Special Judge Patna began to consider the case.
Santosh Kumar Dubey was the subject of departmental action taken by RPF, New Delhi on January 31, 2023.
Following this, Santosh Kumar petitioned the Jharkhand High Court to overturn the department’s decision. The Jharkhand High Court halted the RPF’s departmental action against Santosh Kumar Dubey on October 5, 2023.
Following this, on December 5, 2023, Santosh Kumar was granted an early retirement under Indian Stabilization Code 1802 (A) by the Railway Board, New Delhi, in spite of the departmental action stay.
The Jharkhand High Court ordered the Central Government to respond to the matter by November 7, 2023, but as it failed to do so, the court continued to halt Santosh Kumar’s departmental action.
Regarding premature retirement, Santosh Kumar Dubey filed an intervention plea (IA) with the High Court in the meantime.
After hearing this, the Jharkhand High Court halted Santosh Kumar Dubey’s order to take an early retirement. The Central Government has been ordered by the High Court to file a reply in the lawsuit, with the next hearing scheduled for February 12, 2024.
