Deepak Singhal’s appointment as UP CS challenged in High Court

Lucknow: The appointment of Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer Deepak Singhal as Uttar Pradesh Chief Secretary has been challenged in the Lucknow bench of Allahabad High Court. A petition in this regard was filed by local lawyer Pratyush Tripathi.

What the petition says :

• A committee should be formed for the appointment of the CS.
• Singhal’s appointment was an arbitrary decision.
• At least 18 other more experienced and eligible officers were superceded in the process.
• The list of officers include chairman of the UP Revenue Board Anil Kumar Gupta (1979 batch), Shailesh Krishna (1980 batch), Kunwar Fateh Bahadur (1981 batch) as well as his batch-mate Pravir Kumar (1982 batch).

Also Read: When UP Chief Secretary asked CM to keep quiet and listen

When Deepak Singhal was made UP Chief Secretary (Home):

It may be recalled that Singhal was appointed as the Chief Secretary (Home) by the Samajwadi Party (SP) government in 2014. The 1982 batch IAS officer was, however, removed from the post in merely 13 days.

The ‘Amar’ connection:

Deepak Singhal had hogged the limelight for the first time after a controversial audio clip allegedly linked to SP’s recently elected Rajya Sabha (RS) Member of Parliament (MP) Amar Singh was leaked. According to party insiders and other bureaucrats, the amity between Singhal and Amar Singh has been the prime reason behind the former’s appointment as UP CS.

Also Read: Akhilesh is not pleased with Singhal’s off the cuff remarks