The Haryana government on Friday suspended 2000-batch IAS officer Pankaj Agarwal, an accused in the Rs 657 crore IDFC First Bank and AU Small Finance Bank scam.
According to an order issued by Chief Secretary Anurag Rastogi, Agarwal was detained in CBI custody for a period exceeding 48 hours and is therefore “deemed to have been placed under suspension in terms of sub-rule (2) of Rule 3 of the All India Services (Discipline & Appeal) Rules, 1969, until further orders”.
The order further stated that Agarwal would be entitled to a subsistence allowance in accordance with Rule 4 of the 1969 Rules.
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What does the rule say?
The CBI arrested Agarwal on June 22. A day later, he was remanded to CBI custody for two days. He is currently lodged in judicial custody at Ambala jail.
Under Rule 3(2) of the All India Services (Discipline and Appeal) Rules, 1969, “A member of the Service who is detained in official custody, whether on a criminal charge or otherwise, for a period longer than forty-eight hours, shall be deemed to have been suspended by the Government concerned under this rule.”
Before his suspension, Agarwal was serving as Principal Secretary, Architecture Department, in the Haryana government.
Considered close to the BJP government, he had served as the Chief Electoral Officer and conducted the 2024 Haryana Assembly elections. After acting as Returning Officer (RO) for the March 16 Rajya Sabha elections in the state — where he faced allegations of favouring BJP-backed Independent candidate Satish Nandal by cancelling Congress votes — Agarwal received a key posting three days later.
On March 19, he was appointed Principal Secretary, Irrigation and Water Resources; Adviser, Haryana Saraswati Heritage Board; and Principal Secretary, Mines and Geology Department.
This came despite an FIR in the Rs 657 crore bank scam being registered by the State Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (SV&ACB) on February 23 and Agarwal being under the scanner.
Why did the CBI arrest Agarwal?
According to the CBI, Agarwal was involved in siphoning off more than Rs 50 crore from the Haryana School Shiksha Pariyojana Parishad (HSSPP) while serving as Principal Secretary, School Education. He is also accused of embezzlement of Rs 10 crore from the Haryana State Agriculture Marketing Board during his tenure as Principal Secretary, Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare.
On April 8, the CBI took over the case. The same day, Agarwal was moved to the post of Principal Secretary, Architecture Department, while other accused IAS officers were also downsized.
Controversial role as RO in Rajya Sabha polls
Following the Rajya Sabha elections, in which Congress candidate Karamvir Singh Boudh emerged victorious, the Congress Legislative Party (CLP) submitted a memorandum to Haryana Governor Ashim Kumar Ghosh against Agarwal on March 19.
The memorandum stated: “More shameful and painful was the notorious shrewdness and arbitrariness in the conduct of the Returning Officer… He deliberately and illegally rejected the Congress MLAs’ votes, accepted and allowed the invalid votes in favour of the BJP and the Independent candidates.”
After Agarwal’s arrest, the Congress renewed its attack on him.
On June 23, Rohtak MP Deepender Hooda posted on X: “The arrest has exposed the BJP’s corrupt face. During the Rajya Sabha elections, this officer had made a concerted effort to ensure the victory of a BJP-backed candidate. The incident brought back memories of the brazen theft of councillors’ votes by returning officer Anil Masih during the Chandigarh mayoral election. The BJP government exploited this corrupt officer to serve its own political interests by using the threat of action against him as leverage.”
On June 24, the Congress held a press conference targeting Agarwal over the allegations against him.
