Allahabad: Chairman of Noida Rakesh Bahadur was on Thursday restrained from taking "any policy decision" by the Allahabad High Court "till the final disposal" of a review application filed by the Uttar Pradesh government challenging an earlier order for removal of two senior officers including him.
A Division Bench comprising Justice Laxmi Kanta Mahapatra and Justice Pradeep Kumar Singh Baghel issued the direction while reserving its judgement on the review application challenging an order dated November 8, 2012 whereby the state government was directed to remove Bahadur, besides the then CEO of Noida Sanjeev Saran, from their respective post.
Saran was recently removed in a bureaucratic reshuffle.
The court ordered on November 8 that both the IAS officers be posted "anywhere outside western UP", noting that their presence in the region could influence the investigation in corruption charges faced by them.
The Division Bench also stayed the contempt proceedings pending before a single judge bench of the court which had on January 28 directed the government to file a report of compliance with the November 8 order by February 1 (tomorrow).
The single judge bench had also said that if the government failed to file the compliance report, the Chief Secretary would have to appear in person unless "some interim protection is provided by the Division Bench".
Both Bahadur and Saran have been accused of corruption when they were Chairman and CEO, respectively, of Noida during the Chief Ministership of Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav.
A case was registered against them in 2009 when BSP supremo Mayawati was in power and they were placed under suspension for a long period.
However, soon after the Samajwadi Party returned to power in March last year, the two bureaucrats were appointed to the same posts which they had held earlier notwithstanding the investigations pending against them.
A Public Interest Litigation was filed by a social organisation Madhav Samaj Nirman Samiti challenging their appointment to the plum posts despite serious corruption charges on which the court ordered their removal.
PTI
