Shimla, June 7 -- The simmering tension between former chief secretaries of Himachal Pradesh escalated on Saturday after former state Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) chairman and chief secretary Shrikant Baldi termed the FIR registered against him on the complaint of recently retired chief secretary Sanjay Gupta false, baseless, malicious, and a blatant misuse of official position. The sharp rebuttal comes just a day after the police registered the first information report against Baldi on Gupta's complaint. Gupta accused Baldi of deliberately issuing and widely circulating a defamatory press statement aimed at damaging his reputation, credibility, and standing in public estimation, while creating prejudice against him in the discharge of his official duties. The FIR was registered under Sections 248 for fabricated criminal charges, 351 for criminal intimidation, and 356(2) for criminal defamation under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). In a detailed statement, Baldi hit back, claiming that Gupta utilised his final day in office as chief secretary on May 31 to file the case purely to divert attention from illegal orders he had passed regarding the Chester Hills project. The core of the bitter dispute involves a controversial land transaction linked to the Chester Hills housing project in Solan. Baldi revealed that an inquiry conducted by the sub-divisional magistrate of Solan had uncovered prima facie violations of Section 118 of the Himachal Pradesh Tenancy and Land Reforms Act involving the purchase of 274 bighas of land. The inquiry report allegedly indicated that the property was acquired through a benami transaction in the name of an individual whose financial capacity failed to match the massive scale of the purchase. While proceedings were pending before the deputy commissioner of Solan, Gupta allegedly used his authority as chief secretary to stay the action through an order passed on December 6, 2025. The state government has since reversed that decision and instructed the deputy commissioner to proceed in accordance with the law. Baldi strengthened his defence by pointing to an order passed by the Himachal Pradesh high court on April 20, 2026, which quashed a revision order issued by Gupta in the same matter, after the court held that the former chief secretary lacked the jurisdiction to hear the revision petition. According to Baldi, the FIR filed against him is nothing more than a desperate smoke screen intended to deflect public attention away from the larger issues connected to the Chester Hills matter and other serious allegations that have shadowed Gupta over the years. Questioning his rival's legacy, Baldi said that true questions of integrity are reflected in corruption allegations being raised on the floor of the assembly, vigilance cases, and the ongoing judicial scrutiny of the official orders. Rebutting the charges, the former chief secretary, who is presently posted as chairperson of the Punjab State Electricity Regulatory Commission (PSERC) after his retirement on May 31, said, "Baldi has been part of a malicious campaign against me owing to professional rivalry. He made baseless allegations against me. He has been talking about old cases that were registered against me in which I have been cleared". "Mere registration of FIR does not make a person of doubtful integrity as per judgment of the Supreme Court. A person against whom prosecution sanction has been granted comes under officer of doubtful integrity, but he does not talk about it," said Gupta. "Baldi has not stated anything on registering of projects in violation of the orders of the revenue department," he said. He added, "The SDM whose report they are citing is herself involved in benami transactions, violation of Section 118 of the HP Tenancy and Land Reforms Act, 1972, abuse of official function and money laundering. The personnel department has sent a file to the CM for taking action on the report of the DGP." He said, "The SDM has no power under Section 118 of the HP Tenancy and Land Reforms Act, 1972. It is only the DC who has powers and he is looking into the same"....