Speculation was rife that Lalli, on coming to know of the government's move to strip him of his post, had put in his papers. Senior Information and Broadcasting (I& B) officials declined to comment. Efforts to contact Lalli also proved futile.

            The Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) had indicted Lalli over allegations of financial irregularities and impropriety.

            A 1971-batch IAS officer, Lalli assumed charge in December 2007. He has been in the midst of controversies that embarrassed the government and brought the working of the board under the lens.

            Recently, a CVC report indicted Lalli and some other officers for financial irregularities that caused a loss to the exchequer.

           Subsequently, the I& B ministry wrote to the law ministry for advice, as the process of removing board members is tedious.

           According to the Prasar Bharati Act, any member or chairman can be removed after a presidential reference to the Supreme Court, which orders an inquiry.

         The board had also criticised Lalli's working style, accusing him of not following procedures. Things had come to such a pass that it passed an order stripping Lalli of all financial powers.

        The matter later went to the Delhi High Court, which called in the CVC. The decision to take action against Lalli had been in the pipeline for a while, but given the autonomous status of the Prasar Bharati board, the government was finding it hard to rein him in.