Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena has given the green light for the prosecution of IAS officer Udit Prakash Rai over allegations of signature forgery. Rai is accused of falsifying the signatures of Chief Secretaries from both Delhi and the Andaman and Nicobar Administration on his Annual Performance Appraisal Reports (APAR) during various periods of his tenure.
The LG has also suggested that the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) take further action on the matter.
According to a statement from the LG’s office, Rai, a 2007 batch IAS officer, is accused of forging the signatures of his reviewing authorities, which included the Chief Secretaries of Delhi and A&N, between 2017 and 2021. A criminal case under sections 465 and 471 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) has been filed against Rai at the IP Estate Police Station, following a complaint from the Special Secretary (Vigilance), Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (GNCTD).
The statement detailed that Rai, who was later transferred to Delhi and served as Director of Education in GNCTD, was closely associated with the Kejriwal-led AAP government.
During his tenure, Rai allegedly forged the signatures of his reporting authority, H Rajesh Prasad, the then Principal Secretary (Education), and the reviewing authority, Vijay Kumar Dev, the then Chief Secretary of Delhi. This was purportedly done on his APARs for the period from August 31, 2020, to March 31, 2021.
During the investigation, it was revealed that Rai manually filled out his APARs instead of using the SPARROW Portal, citing technical issues. However, two officers, Anindo Majumdar and Vijay Kumar Dev, denied reviewing Rai’s APARs and confirmed that their signatures were forged.
The Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) report corroborated these findings, showing that the signatures and handwriting on Rai’s APARs did not match those of Majumdar and Dev.
As a result, the matter was presented to the LG, who, given the gravity of the situation, has recommended both disciplinary and criminal action against Rai, who is currently posted in Mizoram and is under suspension. Since Rai is stationed outside Delhi, his case was not routed through the National Capital Civil Service Authority (NCCSA).
Additionally, Rai is already suspended in another corruption case. He has been accused of accepting bribes from an engineer while serving as Vice-Chairman of the Delhi Agriculture Marketing Board.
He also faces charges of demolishing a heritage structure for the construction of his official residence in Jal Vihar, Delhi, at a cost of Rs 5 crore while serving as the CEO of the Delhi Jal Board (DJB).
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