In a significant relief for IAS officer Pooja Singhal (IAS:2000:JH), the special PMLA court in Ranchi on Friday rejected the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) petition seeking to bar her from receiving any government posting.
The special PMLA court had reserved its verdict on Monday (February 17) after hearing arguments from both sides and pronounced its decision on Friday. The ED, following the revocation of Singhal’s suspension, argued that granting her a government role could enable her to misuse her position and influence the case.
However, the court dismissed the ED’s concerns, stating, “It is the state government’s prerogative to give any posting to Pooja Singhal or not, and the court will not interfere in it.”
Singhal, a 2000-batch IAS officer, was arrested on May 11, 2022, after a 15-hour interrogation by the ED in connection with alleged embezzlement of MGNREGA funds and other charges. She remained in jail for 28 months before being granted bail by a special PMLA court in Ranchi on December 7, 2024.
Following her release, the Jharkhand government reinstated her with effect from the date of her release. In a major bureaucratic reshuffle, she was appointed Secretary of the Department of Information Technology and e-Governance, with an additional charge as Chief Executive Officer of Jharkhand Communication Network Ltd. (JCN), Ranchi, on Tuesday.
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