The Supreme Court today directed the Kerala government to reinstate former DGP T P Senkumar, an order seen as a setback to the ruling LDF regime that had defended his transfer.
The apex court while setting aside the order of the Kerala High Court held that Senkumar was transferred from the post "arbitrarily".
Senkumar was transferred from the post of Director General of Police(Law and Order) two days after the CPI(M)-led LDF government assumed office on May 25, 2016 and replaced by Loknath Behara.
Senkumar, who had alleged political vendetta by the new government for his transfer, hailed the verdict as a "historic victory."
The high court had upheld the decision of the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) which did not find any fault with the state government's order to transfer the senior IPS officer from the post of state police chief. Senkumar had challenged the CAT order.
"We direct reinstatement of DGP T P Senkumar," a bench comprising Justices M B Lokur and Deepak Gupta said on an appeal by Senkumar against the high court verdict.
The Kerala government had on April 11 defended in the apex court its decision to transfer Senkumar, claiming he had protected "erring" police officials in the 2016 Puttingal temple fire tragedy in which 110 people were killed.
The state government had told the court that Senkumar's transfer was not a punishment for the "lapse" which had led to the April 10, 2016 incident but it was for how he had handled the fallout of the tragedy.
On April 10 last year, when Senkumar was Kerala's DGP, there was an explosion leading to a blaze after a fireworks display went wrong at Puttingal Temple in Kollam district. 110 people had died while over 300 were injured in the accident.
The Kerala government said it would do whatever has to be done legally after getting the copy of the apex court judgement.
Reacting to the court order, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the government was yet to receive the full copy of the judgement.
"We are expecting to get it today itself. After getting it, we will do whatever has to be done legally," he told reporters in Kannur.
The verdict is seen as a setback to the 11-month old LDF government as the chief minister had all along defended the transfer of Senkumar, holding that the officer was not fit to hold that post.
Senkumar said: "It is a historic judgement... It is not only beneficial to me but also to the entire officers in the country who work honestly," he told reporters in Thiruvananthapuram.
Senkumar, presently Director of Institute of Management in Governance in Thiruvananthapuram, said the judgement also showed that officers do not have to work under any pressure.
"It is the responsibility of all to implement the Supreme Court judgement. Let us wait and see what will happen," he said when asked whether the LDF government would take steps to reinstate him.
He also rejected the government's argument that there was a serious lapse in the investigation of the killing of a Dalit woman law student in Perumbavur last year when he was the DGP.
"Police did not try to arrest any person under pressure in the case. We waited till we got the scientific evidence," he said.
Senkumar had challenged the transfer before the CAT, which rejected his plea holding that there was no fault with the state government's decision. The CAT order was upheld by the Kerala High Court.
The officer, in his appeal before the supreme court, had stated that his transfer was an act of political vendetta as he had probed various political murders allegedly involving CPI(M) cadres, including the 2012 brutal slaying of RMP leader T P Chandrasekharan.
The opposition Congress and BJP termed the apex court verdict as a major setback to the state government and said the chief minister has no moral right to continue in office.
Opposition leader in the state assembly Ramesh Chennithala said the verdict was a "drubbing" to the LDF government.
"The chief minister has no moral right to continue in office", he said.
Echoing Chennithala's sentiments, BJP state president Kummanom Rajasekharan said the court order was a personal blow to Vijayan.
KPCC President M M Hassan demanded that the state government reappoint Senkumar as DGP as it was duty bound to implement the court order.
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