Prayagraj: A division bench of Justice Rajiv Gupta and Justice Harvir Singh of the Allahabad High Court has stayed the arrest of petitioner Naveen Chand in a case related to the alleged misuse of funds from the Sampoorna Grameen Rozgar Yojana (2004-05) in Varanasi and sought an explanation from the investigating officer for the delay in the investigation. The petitioner alleges that he has been falsely implicated with malicious intent and that no departmental inquiry has been completed to date. It was also argued that the FIR was filed in 2019 and the petitioner is cooperating with the investigation, so there is no need for such a delayed arrest.
The court held that the matter was maintainable and that the petitioner would not be arrested until the next hearing in the case registered at the Varanasi Sector (EOW) police station under sections 409, 420, 467, 468, 471, 477-A, 120B, 34 of the Indian Penal Code, and section 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act. The court, making strong remarks, directed the investigating officer to file a personal affidavit explaining why the investigation has not been completed for seven years. The Director General (DG) of the EOW must also file an affidavit explaining why the investigation has been lacking oversight for more than 20 years. Furthermore, the Principal Secretary of the Panchayati Raj Department must explain why a departmental inquiry has not been initiated even after 20 years. The next hearing has been scheduled for August 17, 2026. The state government has been asked to file a reply affidavit within three weeks.