Delhi LG sanctions prosecution against suspended IAS officer

Lieutenant governor (LG) V K Saxena on Thursday granted sanction for the prosecution of IAS officer Udit Prakash Rai for allegedly forging the signatures of the chief secretaries of Delhi and Andaman and Nicobar administration, on his Annual Performance Appraisal Reports (APAR) during different periods of his posting between 2017 and 2021. The LG has also recommended the case to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) for further action, officials from the LG secretariat said.
A criminal case of forgery under Sections 465 (forgery) and 471 (using as genuine a forged document or record) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) was registered against Rai at IP Estate police station, on the complaint of special secretary (vigilance), Delhi government, after the case came to light in 2022. According to the Department of Vigilance, Rai in his APARs also allegedly forged the signatures of his then reporting authorities, including principal secretaries of various departments in Delhi as well as Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
“During the investigation, it came to light that Udit Rai allegedly deliberately filled his APARs manually and not online, through the SPARROW Portal, citing technical glitches. However, during inquiry, two officers denied having reviewed the APARs of Rai and confirmed that the signatures on his APARs were forged. Even the FSL report confirmed that the specimen signatures and handwritings of these two officers did not match with those on Rai’s APARs,” said an official from the LG secretariat.
The official added that due to the seriousness of the matter, the LG had earlier recommended disciplinary and criminal action against Rai, who is now posted in Mizoram and is under suspension. Since Rai is posted outside Delhi, his case was not required to be routed through the National Capital Civil Service Authority (NCCSA), the official added.
“It may be noted that Rai is under suspension in another corruption matter wherein he was charged with taking graft money from an engineer in the Delhi Agriculture Marketing Board, while serving as its vice-chairman,” the official added.
Rai has also been charged with allegedly demolishing a heritage structure for construction of his official residence in Jal Vihar, Delhi, while he was serving as the chief executive officer of the Delhi Jal Board.