Shimla, Aug 7,
A fresh controversy has rocked the Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board Limited (HPSEBL), with former Managing Director ((HPSLDC)) and patron of the All India Power Engineers Federation, Er. Suneel Grover, levelling serious allegations of corruption and abuse of authority against the current Chairman, Sanjay Gupta. In a letter addressed to Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, Grover has sought a high-level vigilance inquiry and demanded Gupta’s immediate removal, accusing him of misusing his post for personal vendetta and financial irregularities.
In the letter, Grover alleged that the Chairman had “maliciously started a campaign to tarnish the image of office bearers (ex and present) of Joint Action Committee,†targeting those who exposed administrative wrongdoing. He claims Gupta is acting beyond his authority, particularly by recommending prosecution sanctions in cases under the Prevention of Corruption Act. “I fail to understand as to under what capacity and authority, the Chairman HPSEBL has recommended prosecution sanction,†wrote Grover, terming the action a “gross misuse of legal procedure.â€
He further alleges that Gupta recommended an FIR against him in a 15-year-old case despite there being no fresh evidence or role attributed to him. “Since I had brought out certain scams in the working of present Chairman… he has now tried to implicate me,†Grover stated.
The letter goes on to highlight past criminal cases involving Gupta, citing “three FIRs in his name, one in 1996 and two in 2009.†It refers to an incident where “in one case Rs 3.00 lakh was recovered from his vehicle and he was arrested.†Grover questioned how such a person was appointed as the head of HPSEBL, stating, “How can such a person be given a responsible post like Chairman HPSEBL?â€
Raising concerns about alleged financial mismanagement, Grover wrote that Gupta’s actions have “led to financial mismanagement and misgovernance.†He claimed that “manual out-of-turn payments are being made to some contractors bypassing SAP billing system,†which he said was a contributing factor to the increase in HPSEBL’s accumulated losses from Rs 1,900 crore in 2022–23 to Rs 3,700 crore.
Calling the chairman’s actions “illegal, arbitrary and vindictive,” Grover urged the Chief Minister to act on four key demands: review of a manipulated affidavit filed in court, immediate removal of Gupta, withdrawal of “bogus cases†against Joint Action Committee members, and initiation of a vigilance inquiry into the working of HPSEBL.
Concluding his letter, Grover warned that “if such officers are shielded by the present Govt., then the Govt. will be known to be shielding the corrupt.†While these remain allegations at this stage, they have triggered fresh debate over transparency and accountability in the functioning of the state’s power sector. The government is yet to issue a response.
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