Suresh Chandra was appointed law secretary by the Narendra Modi government in June 2016, bypassing two senior officers.
New Delhi: Union law secretary Suresh Chandra — who landed in a soup after CBI DIG M.K. Sinha, in an application to the Supreme Court, accused him of “interfering and influencing” the Moin Qureshi case — has retired from office.
According to sources, the government initially planned to give him an extension, but the decision was changed after his name was dragged into the controversy.
Following Chandra’s retirement, Alok Srivastava — a 1984 Madhya Pradesh cadre IAS officer, who is currently secretary, department of justice — was Friday given an additional charge of secretary, department of legal affairs.
“The competent authority has approved the assignment of the additional charge of the post of secretary, Department of Legal Affairs to Alok Srivastava, IAS (MP 1984), Secretary, Department of Justice, till the appointment of a regular incumbent or until further orders, whichever is earlier,” the order said.
Chandra was appointed law secretary by the Narendra Modi government in June 2016, bypassing two senior officers.
He also served as the private secretary to Arun Jaitley when he was law minister in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government between 2002 and 2004.
Also read: Law Secretary Suresh Chandra had a quiet career — until his name got embroiled in CBI mess
The controversy
CBI officer M.K. Sinha alleged that Chandra was in touch with controversial businessman Satish Sana, an accused in the Moin Qureshi case, and tried to get him to work as per the government’s plan.
Sinha alleged that on 8 November, Sana’s office was repeatedly approached by one Rekha Rani, an IAS officer of Andhra Pradesh Cadre, claiming that the Union law secretary, who is in London, wanted to speak to Sana. He alleged that Chandra’s London number too was communicated to Sana by Rani.
He further alleged that Chandra finally spoke to Sana over WhatsApp and he told him that he was trying to get in touch to “convey message of Cabinet Secretary P.K. Sinha that the Union Government will offer full protection to him”.
“Shri Sana spoke to him on Whatsapp on the evening of 08.11.2018. The Union Law Secretary Shri Suresh Chandra said that he was in London for some work related to Nirav Modi case, that he was trying to contact him for last 4/5 days in order to convey message of Cabinet Secretary Shri PK Sinha that the Union Government will offer full protection to him, that there will be a drastic change on Tuesday (13th) and that he (Sana) should meet him (Suresh Chandra) on Wednesday (14th), that even IB is not able to track his (Sana) movement, that he also tried to communicate the message through one Chamundeshwarnath with whom he met in his London hotel. The call was ended by Sana promising to call him again later in the night,” the petition said.
Sinha also alleged that Chandra again tried to contact Sana on 13 November through Rani.
Apart from Chandra, Sinha in his plea to the Supreme Court, had also named National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, minister of state for coal and mines Haribhai Chaudhary, accusing them of influencing the Moin Qureshi probe.