A Mohali court has raised concerns over the delay in prosecution sanction against Indian Forest Service (IFS) officer Mr. Vishal Chauhan and directed the Punjab Chief Secretary Mr. K A P Sinha (1992-batch IAS officer), to examine the slackness on the part of state government officials.
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The court noted that the case has been pending since 2022, despite repeated orders and requests from the Vigilance Bureau (VB). In its order, the court stated, “The chief secretary to the government of Punjab is directed to examine the slackness on the part of various functionaries in processing the consideration of sanction against the public servant.” The chief director of the Vigilance Bureau has also been asked to pursue the matter independently.
Punjab Forest Scam Case
Mr. Chauhan was booked in 2022 in connection with the Punjab forest scam, unearthed by the Vigilance Bureau. He was accused of embezzling forest department funds, along with former Punjab ministers Mr. Sadhu Singh Dharamsot and Mr. Sangat Singh Gilzian, who are also co-accused in the case. At the time, Mr. Chauhan was serving as Conservator of Forests, Punjab, in Mohali.
The Vigilance Bureau had earlier arrested Mohali Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Mr. Guramanpreet Singh and contractor Mr. Harmahinder Singh (alias Hummy) for allegedly taking a bribe from WWICS director Mr. Devinder Singh Sandhu. While prosecution sanction for Mr. Guramanpreet Singh has already been granted, it is still pending in Mr. Chauhan’s case.
Court’s Warning on Delay in Sanction
The court reiterated that the purpose of granting prosecution sanction is to protect public servants from frivolous prosecution, not to shield corrupt officials.
In November 2023, the Mohali Additional Sessions Judge, Mr. Harsimranjit Singh, had attached the salary of the Union Environment Ministry’s Under Secretary (Forests and Climate Change) for delaying prosecution sanction. However, the sanction remains pending. The Union ministry had informed the court that they were awaiting necessary details from the Punjab Department of Forest and Wildlife Preservation.
Deadline for Prosecution Sanction
The court has now set a three-month deadline from the date of request for the authorities to process such cases, extendable by one additional month only in exceptional circumstances requiring legal consultation.
Issuing a strict warning, the court stated that any further delay in responding to the Vigilance Bureau’s request would amount to “deflecting the will of the legislature” and could lead to departmental action as per the mandate of the Supreme Court.
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