Haryana govt ‘denies sanction’ to prosecute IAS officer in bribery case

Says bureau didn't seek requisite prior permission to initiate action against him

Chandigarh | Updated: September 17, 2025 07:47 AM IST

2 min read

Arya, a Haryana Civil Services (HCS) officer, was promoted to the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) in 2019.

The Haryana government has denied the permission to prosecute IAS officer Jaibir Singh Arya, arrested in an alleged bribery case in 2023, stating the bureau had not sought the requisite prior permission to initiate action against him.

A senior government officer told The Indian Express on Tuesday, “The State Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau has sought prosecution sanction, but the government denied, saying the bureau had not taken the requisite prior permission under Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act (PCA) for initiating action against the accused officer.”

Arya, a Haryana Civil Services (HCS) officer, was promoted to the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) in 2019. He is currently serving as the Secretary of the Haryana Human Rights Commission.

In October 2023, he was posted as the Managing Director of the Haryana State Warehousing Corporation when he was arrested in the alleged bribery case, following the arrest of an alleged middleman, who was caught accepting a bribe of Rs 3 lakh reportedly “on Arya’s behalf”.

The money was allegedly demanded for the posting of a corporation officer as Divisional Manager in Kurukshetra and was to be delivered at a shop in Panchkula, it is alleged.

After the arrests, an official had stated, “As soon as an alleged middleman of Arya accepted the bribe money of Rs 3 lakh, ACB sleuths arrested him. After questioning the tout, the team landed at the office of Arya in Panchkula at 6 pm and placed him under arrest. The arrest of the IAS officer was not merely based on the statement of the tout. The ACB had been following the case after receiving a complaint in this connection earlier.”

Arya has, on the other hand, been terming the allegations “baseless”.

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According to an official, Arya submitted a detailed reply to the government, denying the charges and asserting that he wasn’t arrested simultaneously with the alleged middleman.

Arya was suspended following his arrest but reinstated on December 21, 2023, after being granted bail. In January 2024, he was appointed as Special Secretary in the Finance Department. Another IAS officer, arrested a day before Arya in a separate corruption case, was also reinstated on the same day after securing bail.

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