Chandigarh: On 24 March this year, Gurkirat Kirpal Singh, a 2001-batch IAS officer of Punjab cadre, was removed as the state’s home secretary by the Bhagwant Mann-led AAP government. More than eight months later, he remains without a posting.
Many in the state bureaucracy have only guesswork to offer on why he was removed. And while there are several theories abound among senior officers, most agree it had something to do with him having refused to sign a file as secretary of mining, a charge he held along with that of the home department, thus being purportedly “punished” for something that the political powers governing Punjab—a combination of Mann and senior AAP leaders, Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia—did not like.
In any other state, Gurkirat Kirpal—an all-India UPSC topper with an impeccable career spanning over 25 years—would have been an asset. Before the Aam Aadmi Party came to power in Punjab, he had served as special principal secretary to former chief ministers Parkash Singh Badal and Captain Amarinder Singh.
Gurkirat Kirpal declined a request from ThePrint to talk about his unusual “achievement” of being paid for no work for over eight months by the Mann government. But he is no exception.
Kanwal Preet Brar, a 2007-batch IAS officer, has been awaiting a posting since 24 February, after she was removed as the managing director of the Punjab State Warehousing Corporation. When contacted, she too refused to talk to ThePrint about what could have been the reason behind her paid sabbatical.
Puneet Goyal, a 2011-batch IAS officer has been without a posting since 25 February, after being removed as the director of food and civil supplies department.
Though these three officers’ cases are among the most startling ones due to the amount of time they have spent without postings, it has been common in Punjab for the AAP government to indulge in “cold wars” with officers.
Since AAP came to power in the state in March 2022, dozens of senior IAS officers have been kept without work for months, for reasons which have never been clearly spelt out, but have to do with them having upset Mann or the party’s leaders in Delhi. The “punishment”, sources say, is condoned only after the officer offers an unconditional apology, which is possible after he or she is granted an audience with the leadership.
ThePrint attempted to seek the government’s version via Chief Secretary K.A.P. Sinha through phone calls and messages, and from AAP spokespersons Malvinder Singh Kang and Neel Garg. However, there has been no response.
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Long list
Ajoy Kumar Sinha, a 1996-batch IAS officer has had no posting since his removal in October as the chairman of the Punjab State Power Corporation Ltd (PSPCL)—a post he had been given in February. Sinha is due to retire on 31 January, 2026, and no allotment of a posting before that might set another administrative record in Punjab.
Paramvir Singh, a 2015-batch IAS officer, has been given no posting since being removed as commissioner of Patiala Municipal Corporation in October. Paramvir has had quite a bureaucratic ride this past year. He was first removed as deputy commissioner of Mansa in August 2024, after which he was without a posting till October last year, when he was appointed the deputy commissioner of Tarn Taran. But within a few weeks, he was removed after he reportedly shared stage with a senior leader of the Akali Dal. He remained without a posting till March 2025, when he was appointed the commissioner of Patiala Municipal Corporation.
Rahul Bhandari of 1997 batch was removed as principal resident commissioner of Punjab Bhawan in Delhi in February 2024, and was not given any work till September 2024, when he was finally given the charge of animal husbandry and fisheries, seen as among the “sideline” postings in the state.
Ajoy Kumar Sharma, a 1999-batch IAS officer currently posted as joint secretary in Ministry of Labour and Employment, Government of India, was without a posting for over four months after being transferred out in January 2023 as health secretary, and was given a charge only in May that year. His political bosses were reportedly upset with him for raising his voice in favour of other officers, and later refusing to sanction money for the publicity of Aam Aadmi Clinics.
Vikas Pratap Singh (1994 batch) and Mohammad Tayyab (2007 batch) had no postings from the last week of June till mid-August. While Vikas Partap was finally posted as additional chief secretary of social security, women and child development, Tayyab was posted as secretary of jails, and also given the temporary charge of Inspector General of Police, Prisons. Similarly, Punjab Civil Services (PCS) officer Jiwan Jot Kaur of 2014 batch remained without posting from the first week of June till mid-August, when she was named deputy secretary of parliamentary affairs.
Some other officers have remained without postings for weeks. Asked if government service rules allow for such long sabbaticals without posting, a senior officer who has previously served in the personnel department, who did not wish to be named, told ThePrint that service rules are completely silent about such a situation. “The service rules define the guiding principles for a bureaucrat while in service. There are no rules barring the government from not giving any work to an officer. It was a situation that was not envisaged when the service rules were laid down,” the officer said.
Former senior officers rue the situation. Author Ramesh Inder Singh, who retired as chief secretary of Punjab, told ThePrint that this is a punishment tactic. “An officer is kept without a posting because there is no other way the government can find to proceed against him or her. They can find nothing against them. It has a demoralising effect on the bureaucracy. Also, it has negative connotations for the government. The rest of the bureaucracy will stop working, which in turn will lead to poor performance. So in that sense, it doesn’t even do the government any good,” he said.
Former Punjab special chief secretary and columnist K.B.S. Sidhu told ThePrint that there should be a reasonable amount of time within which an officer should be given a posting, either on a cadre post or one equivalent to a cadre post.
“If the government is not able to post an officer, they are transgressing from the cadre rules. Secondly, since the government is not taking any work from them but continues to pay them, it is financially inefficient. Such situations are used to send a message to cadre/colleagues that these offices are not in the right books of the government of the day. Around 15-20 days is fine, but it is not right to keep an officer awaiting posting for so long,” said Sidhu.
Another retired senior officer told ThePrint on the condition of anonymity, “To keep an officer without a posting for weeks or a month has happened under other governments as well. But even then, it was considered unusual. To keep an officer without a posting for such a long period is hugely demoralising for the bureaucracy. It is a clear message being sent to the bureaucracy. Those who are working are being told that there is no place for disagreement or even a different point of view in the system. Either you toe the line completely, or you will join those who are without work.”
(Edited by Mannat Chugh)
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