Lucknow: The Allahabad High Court has granted major relief to IAS officer Abhishek Prakash (IAS:2006:UP) by quashing the vigilance inquiry initiated against him over alleged irregularities in the processing of an industrial project.
A Lucknow bench of Justice Rajeev Singh quashed the government orders dated March 20 and March 28, 2025, as well as the entire proceedings of the open vigilance inquiry against Prakash.
The case originated from a complaint filed by an official of a company alleging that a project-related approval was being sought through an intermediary and that a demand of five per cent of the project cost had been made. An FIR was subsequently registered against the person named in the complaint, while departmental proceedings were initiated against Prakash.
However, the complainant later filed an affidavit before the High Court stating that the complaint had been made due to confusion and misunderstanding. He clarified that the project was still awaiting information regarding land availability and other issues from YEIDA and UPPCL.
The High Court also found that the authorities had proceeded with the vigilance inquiry without awaiting the outcome of the departmental proceedings and without obtaining the approval of the State Vigilance Committee as required under the prescribed procedure.
The court observed that the requirement of an affidavit accompanying complaints against Group-A officers was intended to protect honest officers from harassment based on false or fictitious complaints. It held that after the complainant himself acknowledged that the complaint was the result of a misunderstanding, the foundation of the proceedings stood extinguished.
The court accordingly quashed the government orders and the entire vigilance inquiry against Prakash.
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