The Central Administrative Tribunal has nullified the compulsory retirement of IPS officer Gurjinder Pal Singh (IPS:1994:CG) from service and directed his reinstatement with all related benefits within a period of four weeks. The CAT observed that the FIRs registered against him at the “behest of higher authorities of the then Bhupesh Baghel government,” as the officer refused to comply with the government’s demands.
Three FIRs were registered against Singh: a corruption case for allegedly possessing disproportionate assets, a sedition case, and an extortion case.
In February 2019, Singh was appointed as the head of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) tasked with examining allegations against former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh in an alleged multi-crore public distribution system scam. Reports indicate that Singh had informed the then-Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel that the case against Raman Singh lacked merit, which reportedly angered the CM, leading to what CAT described as “false FIRs” were registered against him. The tribunal noted that Singh was subjected to “vindictive action” because he did not align with the directives of the state government, resulting in three successive FIRs within less than a month.
In the disproportionate assets case, it was alleged that Singh owned two kilograms of gold, recovered from one Mani Bhushan, the main witness. However, Bhushan later testified in a Raipur Court that the gold had been planted by Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) officials. Furthermore, the content related to the sedition case was also alleged to be forged.
Gurjinder Pal Singh was in jail for a long time because of these cases. The state government had recommended the dismissal of Singh from service. But the Union Home Ministry gave him compulsory retirement in July 2023.
