New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday stayed the operation of an Allahabad High Court judgment that had made adverse observations against Uttar Pradesh Additional Chief Secretary, Home, Sanjay Prasad and directed that a copy of the judgment be sent to the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) for consideration in relation to his future assignments.
A bench of Justices Prashant Kumar Mishra and Atul S. Chandurkar passed the interim order while hearing a special leave petition (SLP) filed by Sanjay Prasad challenging the June 3 judgment of the Allahabad High Court in a habeas corpus matter concerning the recovery of a minor girl.
Granting permission to file the SLP, the apex court issued notice to the respondents and directed that the matter be listed after ten weeks.
“Issue notice, returnable in ten weeks,” the Justice Mishra-led Bench ordered, adding: “In the meanwhile, directions issued by the High Court under the impugned order, shall remain stayed.”
The SLP before the top court arose from an Allahabad High Court judgment delivered by a single-judge Bench of Justice Vinod Diwakar while disposing of a habeas corpus petition filed by the mother of a minor girl who had allegedly gone missing in June 2025.
While recording that the girl had ultimately been recovered and restored to her parents, the Allahabad High Court made extensive observations regarding the functioning of the Home Department and the conduct of senior officials.
Referring to Sanjay Prasad, the order said that “the conduct of Shri Sanjay Prasad, IAS (DR 1995), Additional Chief Secretary (Home), Government of Uttar Pradesh, in the present matter” could not be overlooked.
Consequently, Justice Diwakar directed the Registrar (Compliance) of the Allahabad High Court to transmit a certified copy of the judgment, along with the earlier Subhash Chandra v. State of U.P. ruling, to the Secretary, Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), the cadre controlling authority for IAS officers, “for their record, reference, and such consideration as may be deemed appropriate in the context of the assessment of the said officer’s suitability for future assignments by the Appointment Committee of the Cabinet (ACC)”.
(IANS)
