IAS officer who remarked on bias in judiciary recruitment, Brahmin women likely to be stripped of post
Madhya Pradesh to make recommendation to Centre after internal inquiry found his elevation from the State Administrative Service to the Indian Administrative Service was allegedly based on forged documents
3 min readBhopalUpdated: Dec 12, 2025 06:26 PM IST
Officials further said that a departmental inquiry regarding the allegation that Verma obtained an integrity certificate based on forged and fabricated documents is at its final stage.
Madhya Pradesh has moved to strip IAS officer Santosh Verma of his position after an internal inquiry found that his elevation from the State Administrative Service to the Indian Administrative Service was allegedly based on forged documents. The action, ordered by Chief Minister Mohan Yadav, comes days after Verma triggered a political storm with remarks about Brahmin women and the judiciary at a public event.
Officials in the General Administration Department claimed their investigation established that a fabricated promotion order had been prepared to secure Verma’s entry into the IAS despite criminal cases relating to the alleged forgery pending in multiple courts. Based on these findings, the state government concluded that Verma’s promotion was invalid and is preparing to recommend his dismissal from the IAS cadre to the central government.
Officials further said that a departmental inquiry regarding the allegation that Verma obtained an integrity certificate based on forged and fabricated documents is at its final stage.
“His reply to the show-cause notice in the present matter has been found unsatisfactory. He continues to make statements lacking in decorum. Hence, it has been decided to issue a chargesheet against him,” the official said.
Verma, who heads the Madhya Pradesh Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Officers and Employees Association (which goes by the acronym AJJAKS), has also been removed from his post as Deputy Secretary in the Agriculture Department and placed in the General Administration Department (GAD) pool without any assignment.
Senior officials said his response to a show-cause notice was “unsatisfactory” and that he continued to make provocative remarks despite warnings, prompting the decision to serve him a formal chargesheet.
The administrative action follows protests over Verma’s comments at an AJJAKS conference, where he accused the Madhya Pradesh High Court of preventing Scheduled Tribe candidates from becoming civil judges and claimed recruitment processes were engineered to keep SC and ST applicants out. An earlier remark, asserting that reservation should continue “until a Brahmin gives his daughter to our son”, had already drawn sharp reactions from Brahmin and upper-caste groups.
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The backlash has since grown into an organised agitation, with the Brahmin Samaj United Front announcing a protest march to the Chief Minister’s residence on December 14. Organisers say preparations will begin a day earlier with a gathering at Vallabh Bhavan and the sounding of conch shells at the Maharana Pratap statue.
Verma has denied wrongdoing and alleged that the controversy was being used to undermine him in internal power struggles within the AJJAKS.
Anand Mohan J is an award-winning Senior Correspondent for The Indian Express, currently leading the bureau’s coverage of Madhya Pradesh. With a career spanning over eight years, he has established himself as a trusted voice at the intersection of law, internal security, and public policy.
Based in Bhopal, Anand is widely recognized for his authoritative reporting on Maoist insurgency in Central India. In late 2025, he provided exclusive, ground-level coverage of the historic surrender of the final Maoist cadres in Madhya Pradesh, detailing the backchannel negotiations and the "vacuum of command" that led to the state being declared Maoist-free.
Expertise and Reporting Beats
Anand’s investigative work is characterized by a "Journalism of Courage" approach, holding institutions accountable through deep-dive analysis of several key sectors:
National Security & Counter-Insurgency: He is a primary chronicler of the decline of Naxalism in the Central Indian corridor, documenting the tactical shifts of security forces and the rehabilitation of surrendered cadres.
Judiciary & Legal Accountability: Drawing on over four years of experience covering Delhi’s trial courts and the Madhya Pradesh High Court, Anand deconstructs complex legal rulings. He has exposed critical institutional lapses, including custodial safety violations and the misuse of the National Security Act (NSA).
Wildlife Conservation (Project Cheetah): Anand is a leading reporter on Project Cheetah at Kuno National Park. He has provided extensive coverage of the biological and administrative hurdles of rewilding Namibian and South African cheetahs, as well as high-profile cases of wildlife trafficking.
Public Health & Social Safety: His recent investigative work has uncovered systemic negligence in public services, such as contaminated blood transfusions causing HIV infections in thalassemia patients and the human cost of the fertilizer crisis affecting rural farmers.
Professional Background
Tenure: Joined The Indian Express in 2017.
Locations: Transitioned from the high-pressure Delhi City beat (covering courts, police, and labor issues) to his current role as a regional lead in Madhya Pradesh.
Notable Investigations: * Exposed the "digital arrest" scams targeting entrepreneurs.
Investigated the Bandhavgarh elephant deaths and the impact of kodo millet fungus on local wildlife.
Documented the transition of power and welfare schemes (like Ladli Behna) in Madhya Pradesh governance.
Digital & Professional Presence
Author Profile: Anand Mohan J at Indian Express
Twitter handle: @mohanreports ... Read More
