The high court on Friday quashed the FIR lodged against IAS officer Jitendra Gupta in a bribery case.

Earlier on August 9, the high court had granted him bail in the same case. The FIR was quashed by a single bench of Chief Justice Iqbal Ahmed Ansari on a petition filed by Gupta seeking quashing of the FIR against him.

Gupta, a 2013-batch IAS officer, was arrested by vigilance sleuths on July 13, following recovery of Rs 80,000 in cash from the possession of his driver Sanjay Tiwary from the former's official residence at Mohania in Kaimur district.

Gupta was posted as sub-divisional officer (SDO) of Mohania in Kaimur at that time.

Gupta had detained four trucks carrying iron rods from Jamshedpur to Punjab on July 4, allegedly for violating the Motor Vehicles Act.

The drivers of the trucks were reportedly asked to pay bribe of Rs 1.45 lakh for release of their vehicles. However, the deal was finalised at Rs 80,000. Following a tip-off, a vigilance bureau team laid a trap and picked up the SDO, his driver and the house guard after the seizure of documents and cash.

The court on Friday quashed the FIR against the IAS officer on the ground that there was not enough evidence to prosecute him in the case. The court even termed the FIR against Gupta "illegal".

Following his arrest on corruption charges, the state government had suspended Gupta on July 20. However, the IAS Association believed that action against Gupta was taken in haste. It even petitioned the governor and the chief minister in this regard.

In a memorandum submitted to the chief minister and the governor, the association said proper safeguards and transparency should be maintained in carrying out trap cases against government officers in the state so that they are not subjected to harassment or framed in false cases. The association also called the vigilance raid on Gupta "procedural impropriety", highlighting how basic tenets of the law were not followed in his arrest.

However, the state government revoked Gupta's suspension on September 2 with effect from August 11, the date he reported his joining the general administration department after being released from the Beur Central Jail.

Gupta is currently posted as officer on special duty (OSD) in the environment and forest department.