The silence maintained by the Punjab IAS Officers Association over the recent suspensions of two IAS officers, Kamal Kishore Yadav (IAS:2003:PB) and Jaspreet Singh (IAS:2014:PB), has fueled resentment within the Punjab bureaucracy. The two officers were suspended with immediate effect by the state government on February 7.
Although the reasons for their suspension were not specified in the orders, sources said that it stemmed from a six-year delay in procuring smartphones for Anganwadi workers under the Union Government’s Mission Saksham Anganwadi. The vendor selected by the government for providing smartphones had approached the court for the delay.
While Yadav was posted as the administrative secretary of the Department of Industries and Commerce, Investment Promotion, and Promotion of Information Technology, Singh was serving as the Managing Director of the Punjab Information and Communication Technology Corporation Limited.
Many bureaucrats in the state are intrigued by the silence of the IAS Officers Association as they recall how the swift protest was mounted by it when another IAS officer and former Punjab Energy Development Agency (PEDA) CEO, Neelima (IAS:2008:PB), was suspended earlier. They believe that in this case, the Association has turned into a “mute spectator” to the actions of the state government.
Earlier this year, senior IAS officer AK Sinha (IAS:1996:PB) retired without getting a promotion despite the fact that, as per long-standing government practice, IAS officers who complete 25 years of service normally get promoted on January 1. It had led to murmurs, as Sinha would have been promoted to the rank of Additional Chief Secretary had the norm been followed. Two suspensions later, the murmurs have hardened into quiet cynicism.
This is not the first instance of an IAS officer being suspended during the AAP regime. In February 2025, the State government suspended the then Muktsar Deputy Commissioner Rajesh Tripathi following “serious complaints of corruption.”
Additionally, in August 2023, senior IAS officers D.K. Tiwari and Gurpreet Singh Khaira were suspended for making a “technically flawed” decision regarding the dissolution of panchayats.
The question that is bothering Punjab bureaucrats and is causing resentment among them is when the cadre needs its collective voice, the IAS association prefers to keep mum.
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