Supreme Court Rebukes Uttar Pradesh Government Over Mishandling of Convict Remission Files

The Supreme Court criticized the Uttar Pradesh government for scapegoating a senior IAS officer by removing him from his post for providing false information. The court found that the state officials failed to process remission files for convicts due to the model code of conduct during elections and demanded a detailed explanation.

The Supreme Court on Monday criticized the Uttar Pradesh government for its handling of remission files, accusing it of making a senior IAS officer a scapegoat. The officer, allegedly providing false information to the court, was removed from his position, while the chief minister's office was blamed for delaying file processing.

The court noted that state officials had not opened an email from jail authorities informing them that the model code of conduct (MCC) would not interfere with remission processes, which was in effect till June 6 due to the Lok Sabha elections. Justices Abhay S Oka and Augustine George Masih have demanded the chief secretary of the state to file a personal affidavit explaining the sequence of events.

A show cause notice was issued to IAS officer Rajesh Kumar Singh for making contradictory statements. The bench labeled this a clear defiance of orders and sought to know if any directive was given to halt file processing during the MCC period.

(With inputs from agencies.)