With tempers flaring, Krishna Rao has demanded that Rizvi’s VRS be withheld and that disciplinary proceedings be initiated forthwith.
Published Oct 23, 2025 | 1:55 PM ⚊ Updated Oct 23, 2025 | 1:55 PM
Jupally Krishna Rao (L), retired IAS officer Syed Rizvi (C), and CM Revanth Reddy. Credit: x.com/jupallyk_rao, ayush.telangana.gov.in, x.com/revanth_anumula
Synopsis: Senior IAS officer Syed Ali Murtaza Rizvi secured VRS approval on October 22, 2025, amid a fierce clash between Telangana CM A Revanth Reddy and Excise Minister Jupally Krishna Rao over a Rs 500-crore liquor hologram tender. Accused of delays and defiance, Rizvi’s exit—10 years early—ignites demands for disciplinary action, exposing deep bureaucratic rifts and ministerial overreach.
A major storm has broken out in the Telangana Excise Department after senior IAS officer Syed Ali Murtaza Rizvi (1999 batch) was granted Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS) effective 31 October, 2025.
According to unconfirmed sources, the controversy runs much deeper than meets the eye — reportedly involving differences between Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy and Prohibition and Excise Minister Jupally Krishna Rao over the awarding of the multi-crore liquor hologram tender.
Whispers in bureaucratic corridors suggest that the Rs 500-crore hologram contract became a tug-of-war, with the CM allegedly favouring one contractor and the minister batting for another. Trapped between two political heavyweights, Rizvi is said to have chosen to hang up his boots— about 10 years of service ahead of his scheduled superannuation.
Soon after Rizvi applied for VRS, Minister Krishna Rao reportedly shot off a letter to the Chief Secretary, questioning how the VRS was approved without his consent. He alleged that Revanth Reddy had cleared Rizvi’s retirement file over his objections, ignoring Krishna Rao’s recommendation that the officer face disciplinary action for defying ministerial orders.
The state government approved Rizvi’s VRS on 22 October, the very day Krishna Rao filed a scathing complaint accusing the officer of stalling key tenders, violating service conduct rules, and turning a deaf ear to departmental instructions.
What began as an administrative disagreement has snowballed into a political and bureaucratic slugfest. With tempers flaring on both sides, Krishna Rao has demanded that Rizvi’s VRS be withheld and that disciplinary proceedings be initiated forthwith.
In his complaint to the Chief Secretary, Krishna Rao accused Rizvi — then Principal Secretary, Revenue (Commercial Taxes & Excise)— of repeatedly dragging his feet on crucial decisions, particularly the procurement of high-security holograms used to track liquor sales and prevent counterfeit supplies.
Krishna Rao charged that Rizvi’s “inaction and deliberate delays” allowed an expired vendor contract from 2019 to limp along, stalling the rollout of upgraded anti-counterfeit systems.
Despite repeated reminders between August 2024 and October 2025, Rizvi allegedly neither moved the tender files forward nor acted upon directives from the minister, a lapse that Rao termed a “serious breach of official conduct.”
August 13, 2024: Minister Rao directed Rizvi to expedite the hologram tender process.
September 24 & October 17: Two follow-up reminders went unheeded.
September 27: Rizvi sought to reconstitute the Expert Committee under G.O. Ms No. 112 (October 15, 2022) and requested to be relieved as chairman—seen by the minister as a delaying tactic.
December 9: Rizvi bypassed the minister and sent the file directly to the Chief Minister, allegedly violating Business Rule 22(A).
April 6, 2025: The Excise Commissioner issued an Expression of Interest (EoI); 23 firms responded by 30 April, but Rizvi allegedly failed to initiate evaluation.
September 27: Rizvi was transferred from Commercial Taxes to the General Administration Department.
October 22, 2025: Rao’s formal complaint landed on the Chief Secretary’s desk—the very day Rizvi’s VRS was cleared.
Krishna Rao, in his letter to the Chief Secretary, urged for rejection of Rizvi’s VRS and initiate proceedings under Rule 3 of the All India Services (Conduct) Rules, 1968, besides invoking Section 221 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 for obstructing a public servant’s duties.
He alleged that Rizvi’s conduct amounted to “dereliction of duty, misuse of authority, and deliberate obstruction”—actions that, he said, “struck at the very root of ministerial responsibility and cost the state dearly.”
Rizvi’s decision to bow out at this juncture — after four transfers in two years — has only deepened speculation that the seasoned bureaucrat was weary of being caught in political crossfire. Some in the corridors of power see his exit as a strategic retreat, while others view it as an admission of helplessness amid conflicting political pulls.
Following his retirement approval, M. Raghunandan Rao (IAS 2002) has been appointed Full Additional Charge Secretary, Revenue (Commercial Taxes & Excise).
(Edited by Amit Vasudev)
