Supreme Court rebukes UP Prisons Secretary: 'Won't tolerate IAS officer lying to court as per convenience of his masters'

The Supreme Court in the case Ashok Kumar v. State of Uttar Pradesh & Anr. observed and has criticized the Principal Secretary of the Prison Administration and Reforms Department of Uttar Pradesh for submitting a false affidavit with regards to the progress of a remission plea of a convict.

The bench headed by Justice Abhay Oka in the case orally remarked that, 'This court will not tolerate IAS officer lying to this court and changing the stands as per convenience of his masters.' The bench comprising of Justice Abhay Oka and Justice Augustine George Masih was hearing the present matter.

The bench noted that the affidavit contained statements that contradicted Principal Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh's original stance that the Chief Minister's Secretariat delayed the processing of the file due to the Model Code of Conduct, MCC.

Further, the court in the case had warned him of contempt - proceedings and the court allowed him to file an additional affidavit if he wished to clarify his position.

The court also noted that Singh's original stance appeared to be true which being from the record of the movement of the file. On August 12, 2024, the Principal Secretary while appearing in the Court through video conferencing had claimed that the Chief Minister's Secretariat did not accept the file with regards to the remission plea due to the MCC. It has also been claimed by him in the subsequent affidavit that the Standing Counsel appearing for UP did not communicate to him a court order dated May 13, 2024.