The Chandigarh Administration has finally repatriated two IAS officers, Harsuhinder Pal Singh Brar and Rubinderjit Singh Brar, to their parent cadre—Punjab—after their deputation period ended with the UT Administration.
The responsibilities they discharged have been distributed among officers of the Haryana Civil Service (HCS) and Punjab Civil Service (PCS). These responsibilities will be in addition to their current assignments.
Radhika Singh, an HCS officer, will discharge multiple duties as Director of Higher and Technical Education, Project Director of Educity, Controller-cum-Joint Secretary of Printing & Stationery, and Joint Secretary of Cooperation.
Similarly,PCS officer Amandeep Singh Bhatti will be in charge of Director, School Education, and Additional Excise & Taxation Commissioner-cum-Deputy Excise & Taxation Commissioner-cum-Collector (Excise).
The Karnataka government received a severe setback in its contemplated move against senior IPS officer Alok Kumar after the High Court refused to stay a CAT order in Kumar’s favour.
The CAT had set aside the charge memo issued to the IPS officer by the state government on the orders of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. The state government had moved the High Court in the hope of securing a stay on the CAT order. But a division bench of Justices Shyam Prasad and TM Nadaf declined the govt’s plea for a stay.
It all started with an audio clip of an illegally intercepted conversation/call that grabbed media attention in August 2019. The case was handed over to the CBI, which filed its first closure report in June 2021 and recommended a regular departmental action in September 2021, but no proceedings were initiated by the then BJP govt.
But a fresh charge memo was issued against Kumar on May 9, 2025. Kumar moved the CAT against this memo, and the tribunal set it aside. The CAT noted that the charge memo was revived just days before Alok Kumar’s scheduled promotion to the rank of Director-General of Police by the end of May 2025.
The CAT order was challenged by the state govt in the High Court, which has been dismissed by the court. The matter is now listed for Dec 4.
In an unusual display of repentance, former IAS officer of the Andhra Pradesh cadre, Praveen Prakash (IAS:1994:AP), has sought a public apology from two of his former colleagues — former IPS officer AB Venkateswara Rao (IPS:1989:AP) and former IRS officer Jasti Krishna Kishore (IRS-IT:1990) — for his actions that led to their suspension. Both Rao and Kishore were suspended for service rule violations, irregularities, and corruption allegations when Praveen was serving as Principal Secretary in the General Administration Department.
The reason for Praveen’s remorse is that he had cleared the files for their suspension and the initiation of criminal proceedings against them.
Praveen shared his feelings of guilt through a video message, requesting the duo to pardon him for not viewing their cases from an ethical perspective. Praveen feels he would not have done what he did had he applied a role-reversal test before acting against them. The fact of the matter is that Praveen’s latest move is virtually aimed at purification of conscience.
The Uttar Pradesh government has appointed retired IPS officer Dr. G.K. Goswami (IPS:1997:UP) as the Director of the Uttar Pradesh State Institute of Forensic Sciences (UPSIFS), Lucknow, for a period of one year. The appointment, approved by the Hon’ble Governor, takes effect from November 13, 2025.
Notably, Dr. Goswami, who served as the founding director of UPSIFS, retired from service on September 30, 2025. As LegendOfficers.com reported on September 4, the state government had been exploring potential successors for the institute’s leadership. It was also indicated that if no suitable replacement was finalized, Dr. Goswami might be re-engaged on a special assignment post-retirement, a scenario that has now materialized.
Amit Kumar (IDAS:2014), who was recommended for Central deputation by the Department of Defence, has been appointed as Deputy Secretary in the Ministry of Steel.
According to an order issued by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) on Thursday (November 13, 2025), the competent authority has approved his appointment under the Central Staffing Scheme for a period of four years from the date he assumes charge of the post or until further orders, whichever is earlier.
In a key development, IPS officer Shalini (IPS:2011:UP) has been appointed as Deputy Inspector General (DIG) in the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for a period of five years.
According to an order issued by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) on Tuesday (November 11, 2025), the competent authority has approved her induction into the CBI for a tenure of five years from the date she assumes charge of the post or until further orders, whichever is earlier.
Ms. Shalini is presently serving as DIG, Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC), Moradabad, a position she has held since March 2025.
In a bizarre incident, a former IAS officer from Tamil Nadu, U. Sagayam, has moved the Madras High Court for police security. He has filed a writ petition for it, saying he faces a threat from the granite mining mafia. Sagayam argues in his petition that he is unable to depose before the trial court without security, as he continues to face threats from the mafia. Sagayam had been provided police security in 2014, but it was later withdrawn.
The High Court has directed the state DGP to file his response by November 24.
In his petition, the bureaucrat claims that he antagonised the granite mafia after disclosing large scale irregularities in granite mining in the Madurai district with an estimated loss of around 16000 crores to the public exchequer when he was a collector there in 2012.
According to the affidavit he has filed in the court, the High Court had appointed him as a Special Officer in that case way back in 2014 for inspecting mining operations across the state and was thus provided with an armed security guard on the basis of a court direction. But his report unearthing large-scale irregularities opened a Pandora’s box of issues with the mafia baying for his blood.
He and his family members started getting threats and intimidation from the mafia, on the basis of which he got two FIRs registered in 2015. The High Court restored his police security, but it was withdrawn in November 2020. The court intervened to restore security to him. But the gunman was withdrawn on May 26, 2023, again.
In a significant development, the central government on Thursday (November 13, 2925) approved a second consecutive one-year extension for Mallika Srinivasan, Chairperson of the Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB), the apex government body tasked with selecting top executives for India’s Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs).
According to the official order, the extension will take effect from November 19, 2025, enabling Ms. Srinivasan to continue leading the PSU head-hunter until November 18, 2026.
Mallika Srinivasan, who also serves as Chairperson and Managing Director of Tractors and Farm Equipment Ltd (TAFE), made history in April 2021 when she became the first private-sector specialist to head the PESB. She succeeded Rajeev Kumar (Retd. IAS: 1984: JH), with an initial term of three years or until she attained the age of 65, whichever was earlier. Her first extension was granted in November 2024, extending her tenure till November 18, 2025.
In a significant development, the Jharkhand government has revoked the suspension of IAS officer Chhavi Ranjan (IAS:2011:JH) with effect from October 14, 2025, the day he was released from jail following bail granted by the Supreme Court in a money laundering case related to a land scam.
Ranjan, who was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on May 4, 2023, had been in judicial custody for over 29 months. The decision to lift his suspension came after he formally requested the state government to review his case.
Officials indicated that Ranjan is likely to be assigned a new posting soon. The Supreme Court had on October 10 granted him conditional bail, directing that he must not influence witnesses and cannot leave Jharkhand without prior permission from the trial court. He has also been ordered to appear personally on all hearing dates.
Before his arrest, Ranjan served as Deputy Commissioner of Ranchi and was later posted in the Department of Social Welfare. The case against him pertains to the alleged fraudulent purchase and sale of land in Bariatu, under the Bargai circle of Ranchi, reportedly under the possession of the Indian Army.
Ranjan held charge as Ranchi Deputy Commissioner from July 15, 2020, to July 11, 2022, during which the alleged irregularities are said to have taken place.
As Bihar awaits the results of the Assembly elections scheduled to be counted on November 14, 2025, a distinct sense of calm prevails across the state bureaucracy. Officers appear confident that the Nitish Kumar-led NDA government will retain power, paving the way for Kumar to be sworn in as Chief Minister for the tenth time.
Nitish Kumar has been at the helm of Bihar since November 2005, barring a brief nine-month interlude in 2014–2015 when Jitan Ram Manjhi held the top post. Over the years, the state’s bureaucratic machinery has been fine-tuned to align seamlessly with Nitish Kumar’s governance style and administrative expectations.
Such deep institutional alignment has created a system so accustomed to his leadership that even the mere thought of a change at the top unsettles the administrative setup built over the past two decades. This underlying stability or complacency, as some may call it, reflects an implicit assumption within the bureaucracy that the political order will remain unchanged after counting day.
However, this calm wasn’t always visible. Earlier, murmurs about the Chief Minister’s health, his perceived loss of charisma, and speculation over the government’s performance had momentarily shaken bureaucratic confidence. But as the election campaign progressed, Nitish Kumar’s renewed political assertiveness and strategic outreach helped shift the narrative in his favour.
Bihar recorded a “historic high” voter turnout of 66.91%, the highest since 1951, leaving everyone, including bureaucrats, guessing where the support might have gone. When ECI data revealed that women voters led the participation surge with a turnout of 71.6%, outpacing men by nearly nine percentage points — the widest-ever gap recorded in the state — it strengthened the belief that women played a decisive role in this election.
While the final verdict will be known only on November 14, those close to the corridors of power in Patna maintain that this surge in women’s participation is likely to work in Nitish Kumar’s favour, further reinforcing the bureaucracy’s quiet confidence in the continuity of his leadership.
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