CHENNAI: The Madras High Court on Thursday delivered judgments in two cases in which senior Indian Police Service (IPS) officers were suspended and ordered the Tamil Nadu government to reinstate the two officers immediately. The two officers Mr. M S Jaffer Sait, former intelligence chief of TN and Mr. Pramod Kumar, an ADGP-rank officer. The two officers were victims of prolonged suspension. The bench of Justice K K Sasidharan and Justice V Parthiban rapped the government and the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT). The court ordered the government to reinstate the officer and reinstate him with a post by January 18. Revoking the suspension of Mr. Pramodkumar, the bench quashed the charge memo and disciplinary proceedings. Mr Jaffer Sait Sait, a 1986 batch IPS officer, had been under suspension for more than five years and five months. In the case of Mr Pramodkumar, the bench accepted senior counsel Vijay Narayan’s contention that the chief minister was the competent authority and her approval was required for initiating and issuing charge me mo. The bench quashed the officer’s case on the sole ground of the charge memorandum not having been approved by the chief minister who is the competent disciplinary authority. The bench said, in the case of both officers, the government was open to post them in non-sensitive posts.]]>
