Lucknow: Divya Mittal, an IAS officer of the Uttar Pradesh cadre, Sunday resigned from the service, bringing her 13-year administrative career to a close and triggering quiet chatter in the state’s bureaucratic and political circles.
The 2013-batch officer had been serving as Special Secretary in the state’s revenue department since May this year.
Mittal announced her resignation on social media in an emotional post, reflecting on her journey and expressing gratitude, but without exactly explaining the reasons for her exit.
However, she told ThePrint, “Nothing has triggered me. It’s just that, for the past few months, I have been thinking that I am done with this job. I have not planned anything for the future. I will speak about it when the time comes.”
Sources close to her have suggested that she could potentially make her political debut in either Mirzapur or Deoria—two districts she developed a strong connection with during her administrative career. Despite being posted in Lucknow, she is learnt to have remained in touch with residents there.
‘The dream will never leave’
Born in Rewari in Haryana, Mittal studied engineering at IIT Delhi, and later got her MBA degree from IIM Bangalore, after which she moved to London with her husband Gagandeep Singh, where they worked in the corporate sector. After some time, the couple quit their jobs and returned to India. Mittal subsequently began preparing for the UPSC examination and was selected for Indian Police Service in 2012. A year later after another attempt, she bagged a spot in the Indian Administrative Service.
In her X post, originally in Hindi, Mittal wrote about growing up in “humble surroundings”, studying at IIT Delhi and IIM Bangalore, and working in London before returning to India and joining the civil services. On why she left her London job to pursue a career in the IAS, she added that she owed her education, confidence and the ability to walk with her head held high anywhere in the world to India. “I had a debt to this soil, and I wanted to repay it.”
She also reflected on her time in Deoria and Mirzapur: “Deoria taught me that standing with what is right is not an option, but a duty. Mirzapur taught me that ‘impossible’ is not a fact, but just an opinion.”
She added that some of the most fulfilling moments of her administrative career came from witnessing tangible changes in people’s lives—families receiving land rights for the first time, persons with disabilities getting the opportunity to live with dignity, and farmers getting access to water.
“I was foolish to think that I had come to give something. The truth is that I was the one who received the most, and that debt only kept growing,” she wrote. She also thanked the fellow officers and officials she worked with, and recalled the affection and trust she received from people during her postings.
Recalling how an elderly woman in Lahuriya Dih in Mirzapur blessed her with “trembling hands” upon seeing water supply in her village for the first time, she remarked, “The position may be left behind today, but that touch will never leave me in this lifetime. And that dream, too, will never leave—the one this soil of the country gave me.”
आज मैंने 13 वर्षों की अविस्मरणीय यात्रा को अपनी इच्छा से विराम देते हुए IAS से त्यागपत्र दे दिया है।
साधारण परिवेश में पलते हुए मैंने एक अच्छे, सफल जीवन का सपना देखा था। दिन-रात एक कर IIT दिल्ली और IIM बैंगलोर से पढ़ने के बाद, लंदन में नौकरी लग गयी। पर 'सब कुछ' पा लेने पर भी कुछ… pic.twitter.com/4VRXpK8nu8
— Divya Mittal (@divyamittal_IAS) August 30, 2026
‘Differences’ with Anupriya Patel in Mirazpur
While there is speculation over her potential entry in politics, there is no such confirmation from Mittal herself. ThePrint attempted to reach her for a comment, but there was no response.
According to government sources, during her posting as District Magistrate in Mirzapur, she had differences with Apna Dal (Soneylal) MP and MoS Anupriya Patel, and her husband and UP minister Ashish Patel. Mittal served in the position from September 2022 to September 2023.
The sources said that the tension intensified following an event in Lahuria village, where Mittal had helped facilitate a project for piped water supply for the first time since Independence, after which she was transferred out of Mirzapur. They claimed that MP Patel was not invited to the pooja ceremony held for the project.
Mittal was given an emotional farewell by Mirzapur residents, who showered her with flower petals. Mittal herself had become emotional during the farewell, as seen in a viral video clip.
None of the senior administrative officials has commented yet on her resignation, but they have also not dismissed the possibility of political debut.
Meanwhile, on Sunday, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, without naming Mittal, alleged in an X post that honest officers are under pressure due to “corruption in the BJP government in UP”, which “sometimes even forces them to resign”.
“No governance or administration can function without honest officers,” he wrote.
उप्र में भाजपा सरकार के भ्रष्टाचार के कारण ईमानदार अधिकारी निम्नलिखित कई तरह के दबाव में हैं :
– कमीशनख़ोरी से भ्रष्टाचार करने
– भाजपाइयों को टेंडर दिलवाने में हेराफेरी करने
– ट्रांसफ़र-पोस्टिंग को धंधा बनाते हुए पैसे लेने
– चंदा-पर्ची कटवाकर वसूली करवाने
– विपक्ष पर…
— Akhilesh Yadav (@yadavakhilesh) August 30, 2026
This is an updated version of the report.
(Edited by Mannat Chugh)