Setback to Kerala as CAT directs govt to forward vigilance status report of senior IPS officer

The Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) has dealt a blow to the Kerala government by directing Chief Secretary V. Venu to forward a vigilance status report on Kerala DGP-rank IPS officer Yogesh Gupta to the Union Home Ministry.

Gupta, a 1993-batch Kerala cadre officer, has been fighting a protracted legal battle against the CPI(M)-led state government to ensure the report is sent to the Centre — a prerequisite for his consideration for posts under the Central Deputation Reserve (CDR).

Over the past four years, Gupta has been transferred eight times, most recently last week when he was shifted from Director General of Fire and Rescue Services to Road Safety Commissioner. His friction with the government stems largely from his tenure as head of the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB), during which he initiated several inquiries.

Acting on Gupta’s petition, the CAT’s Kochi Bench on Tuesday instructed the state government, through the chief secretary, to submit his vigilance clearance to the Union Government within five days, the Indian Express reported.

The bench observed that the state government had no justification for ignoring repeated communications from the Union Home Ministry regarding the vigilance status report. It noted that the chief secretary and other senior officials had failed to either forward the report or respond to the Centre’s requests, a stance the Bench found is not at all justifiable.

In April 2024, the Home Ministry had asked the Kerala Chief Secretary for Gupta’s vigilance clearance and profile as part of his consideration for top posts in central agencies, including the CBI and Enforcement Directorate.

While Gupta’s performance appraisal reports for the past decade are already available, the Centre requires the vigilance report from the state government to complete the process.

Despite the Home Ministry sending five reminders after its initial request went unanswered, the report was never forwarded. Sources said that although the state police chief submitted the vigilance status report to the chief secretary in May, it was not passed on to the Union Government.

When Yogesh Gupta, who has service until 2030, was recently in the running for the post of state police chief, the Kerala government had in fact forwarded his vigilance clearance report to the UPSC.

However, after the government appointed Ravada Chandrasekhar as police chief in July, Gupta turned his focus to a central deputation. For this, too, the vigilance status report was required, but the government did not provide the vigilance status report necessary to facilitate this.

Gupta pointed out that since the state had already prepared and submitted his vigilance clearance for the earlier consideration, there was no reason for refusing or delaying the same report when sought by the Union Government for empanelment.

In June, Gupta also sought details of the Centre’s request and his vigilance profile through an application under the Right to Information Act. The information, however, was denied on the grounds that it was confidential.

The government informed the Tribunal that a vigilance inquiry was still pending against Gupta. However, the CAT Bench in Kochi observed that the only reason cited for withholding his vigilance status report was the ongoing probe, and it found no valid factual or legal grounds to justify such a delay. The tribunal made it clear that the pendency of an inquiry could not be used as a reason to deny the Union Ministry’s request for the report.

The inquiry against Gupta stems from decisions he took while serving as director of the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB). According to the state’s submission, he had allegedly ordered investigations into pseudonymous complaints and initiated probes against certain officials without obtaining prior government sanction. Gupta countered this argument, stating before the CAT that all preliminary vigilance inquiries were conducted pursuant to court orders.

A 1993-batch IPS officer, Gupta had earlier worked with the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate. His tenure at the VACB reportedly placed him at odds with the CPI(M)-led state government after he ordered a preliminary inquiry against P P Divya, a Kannur-based party leader who came under scrutiny following the suicide of an additional district magistrate last year while she was president of the district panchayat.