IFS officer Birendra Chaudhary, wife to face DA case; CBI court frames charges

The CBI had registered the case against Chaudhary and his wife four years ago. Chaudhary served as the Deputy Conservator of Forests (DCF) in Chandigarh between 2014 and 2017. According to the agency, he allegedly abused his official position to amass assets 186.33 percent beyond his known sources of income. The Centre granted prosecution sanction to the CBI last year.

Chaudhary is presently posted in Port Blair, Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

Earlier arrested for bribery

In August 2017, the CBI arrested Chaudhary for allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 1 lakh following a complaint filed by several sawmill owners in Chandigarh. He was suspended after the arrest but was later reinstated, though subsequently transferred out of Chandigarh.

DA case based on decade-long assessment

After his arrest in the bribery case, the CBI began investigating his assets over a ten-year period—from 2011 to 2021, which also covered his posting in Chandigarh. The probe revealed that Chaudhary’s total movable and immovable assets increased from Rs 22.60 lakh in 2011 to Rs 2.40 crore by 2021. This led to the registration of a separate disproportionate assets case against him.