BHOPAL: Four years after an income-tax raid on their home unearthed disproportionate assets of Rs 41 crore and Rs 3 crore in cash, tainted IAS couple Arvind and Tinoo Joshi, were dismissed from service by the government. Their properties were found to 3,151% more than their legal source of income.

Madhya Pradesh government, on Tuesday served the sack order on the Joshi couple, a day after receiving the go-ahead from the department of personnel and training (DoPT), said sources.

DoPT is a nodal authority to deal with matters related to Indian Administrative Service (IAS). Both Arvind and Tinoo are 1979 batch IAS officers of Madhya Pradesh cadre. They were suspended in February 2010, following the income tax search on their residence in Bhopal. Arvind was due to retire next month and his wife in October.

They are planning to move Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) against their dismissal. They can also appeal to President Pranab Mukherjee.

President of MP IAS Officers Association in Madhya Pradesh, Aruna Sharma, refused to comment on the termination of the Joshi couple, terming it an administrative decision.

Following outrage in the Assembly, chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan had written to the Centre seeking their dismissal from service. The state government has already initiated legal proceedings to attach their properties. And the Joshi couple has been asked by the special court to be present for hearing on August 2.

So far, the IAS couple has been represented by their counsel after they sought exemption from appearance in court. Lokayukta's Special Police Establishment (SPE) had submitted charge-sheet against 18 people, including the Joshi couple on February 22.

The Joshi couple was charge-sheeted under Prevention of Corruption Act. Besides, 16 others, including Arvind Joshi's father H M Joshi, mother Namrata, sisters Abha and Vibha, associates S P Kohli, his wife and son, Pawan Agrawal, Sridev Sharma, Delhi-based stamp vendor Raj Rani, insurance agent Seema Jaiswal, Bharti Varshaney and property broker Pradeep Jain were charged under Section 109 (instigation) and Section 120 (conspiracy) of IPC.

In the income tax appraisal and final assessment report, names of Arvind Joshi's two sisters - Abha Ghani and Vibha Patel - also figure. Both are settled abroad. Of properties unearthed during raids included 402 acres of agricultural land valued at several hundred crores in Bhopal, Sehore, Raisen, Balaghat and Kanha. The land was in name of his sisters Abha and Vibha. Arvind Joshi claimed before investigating agencies that his sisters had given him their power of attorney and he could purchase land on their behalf.

In October 2013, special court dropped the name of Arvind's brother, Rajeev Joshi, from the list of respondents finding no merit in charges against him. Rajeev is an army officer and he has proved that goods in his name recovered during search at Joshi couple's residence were bought through his earnings.

Another case

This is the second case of an MP cadre IAS officer to be dismissed. Twenty-two years ago, Ram Singh, an IAS officer on deputation in Delhi was the first IAS officer of MP cadre to be sacked. Singh, a 1972 batch officer, was caught red-handed accepting bribe by CBI in 1992 during his tenure as General Manager of Delhi Milk Supply (DMS).

He was sentenced to five years' rigorous imprisonment. CBI had charged that as per agreement between milk societies and DMS, milk suppliers were to keep a security deposit equivalent to six days of average supply of milk to ensure supply of milk was not hampered during the lean period. Ram Singh passed an order enhancing this security deposit from six days to 10 days. Milk cooperative societies, that approached Ram Singh, were told that the order could be reversed if they paid him Rs 2 lakh.

