The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) Jammu has registered a formal case against senior officials of the Jammu unit of the State Industrial Development Corporation (SICOP) in connection with alleged illegal appointment, regularisation and subsequent promotions made in gross violation of rules and established procedures.
In an official statement, the ACB said that FIR No. 01/2026 has been registered under Sections 5(1)(d) read with 5(2) of the J&K Prevention of Corruption Act, Svt. 2006 and Section 120-B RPC at Police Station ACB Jammu. The accused include R.K. Razdan, the then Managing Director of SICOP Jammu (now retired), Kunal Choudhary, presently serving as Deputy General Manager, SICOP Jammu, and others.
The case pertains to allegations of illegal appointment, regularisation and promotion of Kunal Choudhary. During the course of verification, it surfaced that R.K. Razdan, while serving as Managing Director of SICOP, allegedly abused his official position and, in criminal conspiracy with others, engaged Kunal Choudhary as a Technical Assistant on a temporary basis for a period of six months without issuing any advertisement or inviting applications from eligible candidates.
The statement said that the temporary engagement was made purely at the discretion of the then Managing Director and in a pick-and-choose manner, without following any prescribed recruitment procedure.
Further verification revealed that after merely six months of temporary service, Kunal Choudhary was regularised despite not meeting the existing eligibility criteria and in the absence of any government-sanctioned policy for regularisation. The ACB stated that the regularisation was arbitrary and illegal.
Subsequently, he was promoted to the post of Manager without issuing any advertisement and without considering the seniority of other eligible candidates.
By acting in this manner, the then Managing Director, R.K. Razdan, allegedly conferred undue benefits upon the beneficiary through manipulation and actions contrary to service rules, resulting in financial gains in the form of salary, allowances and seniority, the statement said. Kunal Choudhary has since risen to the post of Deputy General Manager, SICOP Jammu.
