Chandigarh, Jan. 11 -- The Haryana government has declined to grant sanction to prosecute 2001-batch IAS officer Vijay Dahiya, who was arrested by the anti-corruption bureau (ACB) in 2023 in connection with an alleged corruption case. The refusal to accord prosecution sanction effectively prevents the investigating agency from filing a chargesheet or challan against the IAS officer in a court of law for initiating trial proceedings against him. Dahiya was, on January 1, 2026, promoted to the higher administrative grade (Level 15 in pay matrix) as principal secretary along with his 2001 batch mates. The ACB had registered a corruption case on April 20, 2023, naming Dahiya, then administrative secretary of the Youth Empowerment and Entrepreneurship Department, along with Deepak Sharma, the chief skills officer (a contractual appointee) in the Haryana Skill Development Mission, and a private individual, Poonam Chopra. Dahiya was arrested on October 10, 2023, and remained in judicial custody for 49 days before being granted bail on November 28, 2023. According to ACB officials, the agency completed its investigation and first sought sanction to prosecute Dahiya from the state government in July 2024. A communication dated July 10, 2024, addressed to the chief secretary, was followed by two reminders on January 28, 2025, and August 4, 2025, reiterating the request for prosecution sanction. Officials said that after examining the case record, the state government declined to grant sanction on the grounds that the investigation failed to establish any exchange of graft money between the IAS officer and the other accused as well as the complainant in the case, Rinku Manchanda. The state government also noted that the ACB did not obtain prior approval of the government under Section 17-A of the Prevention of Corruption Act before registering the FIR in which Dahiya was named as an accused. Fatehabad resident Rinku Manchanda, who ran an educational institution, Gramin Shiksha, providing technical training to poor students under the Haryana Skill Development Mission, had alleged that the skill development department had pending dues of about Rs.50 lakh payable to him. According to Manchanda, he approached Deepak Sharma, then posted as the chief skills officer, seeking clearance of the outstanding bills. Sharma allegedly demanded a bribe of Rs.5 lakh for processing the payment. According to the FIR, Sharma directed Manchanda to meet Poonam Chopra, a Delhi resident, claiming that she was personally acquainted with Dahiya, who was then serving as the administrative secretary of the department, and could facilitate early clearance of the bills. Manchanda subsequently met Chopra, who allegedly assured him that she would speak to the IAS officer. She later informed the complainant that she had spoken to him and reiterated the demand of Rs.5 lakh as illegal gratification for clearing the bills, while also seeking a 5% commission for herself. The complainant agreed to the demand and allegedly paid Rs.2 lakh to Chopra as part payment. According to the complaint, Chopra later forwarded a WhatsApp message purportedly from the IAS officer, stating that the payment files had been cleared. Chopra then allegedly asked Manchanda to pay the remaining Rs.3 lakh on April 20, 2023, following which the ACB laid a trap and arrested her....