SC declines to stay dismissal order of IPS officer who probed Ishrat Jahan encounter

New Delhi [India], September 28 (ANI): The Supreme Court on Wednesday declined to stay the Centre's order dismissing Gujarat cadre IPS officer Satish Chandra Verma from service. Verma had assisted the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in its probe into the Ishrat Jahan 'fake encounter' case.
A bench of Justices KM Joseph and Hrishikesh Roy said that it is not inclined to interfere with the Delhi High Court's order which had refused to stay the dismissal order, as it was an interim order.
On September 26, the Delhi High Court had refused to stay the dismissal order of Verma.
On September 19, the Supreme Court had kept in abeyance for a week Verma's dismissal order and left it to the High Court to consider whether to continue the stay or not.
During the hearing, counsel appearing for Verma urged the court to stay the dismissal order against him.
"I have put in 38 years of service. At least I may be honourably permitted to leave. Please extend the stay and let the High Court decide", the counsel told the bench.
To this, Justice Joseph said, "But we have to balance everything. You talked about your honour and prestige but if the truth is on your side, you will have your day in court. We can't do it now. You will have your tribulations, but if justice is on your side, you will succeed."
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre, said that he does not object to the advancement of the date before the High Court but added that there is a "darker side to the story".
The bench said the plea pending before the High Court be listed on November 22 for hearing and asked the High Court to dispose of the matter as early as possible.
The High Court while declining interim stay had posted the case for further hearing on January 24, 2023.
1986-batch Gujarat cadre IPS Verma was dismissed from the service on August 30, a month before his scheduled retirement on September 30.
The Delhi High Court while hearing a plea by Verma had directed the Union Home Ministry not to implement the dismissal order till September 19 so that he could approach a higher court to get relief.
The senior police officer was last posted as inspector general with the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) in Tamil Nadu.
If the dismissal of Verma comes into effect, he will not be entitled to pension and other benefits.
Verma had probed the Ishrat Jahan case between April 2010 and October 2011 and on the basis of his investigation report that a SIT had held that the encounter was "fake". The Gujarat High Court later directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to probe the case and avail Verma's services.
Verma approached the top court after the High Court allowed the Home Ministry to take action against him in the view of a departmental inquiry that proved the charges against him, including interacting "with public media" when he was chief vigilance officer of the North Eastern Electric Power Corporation, Shillong.
On August 30, the High Court had said that the disciplinary proceedings against Verma shall not be implemented without the court's permission if it is prejudicial to him.
Following this High Court's order, the Centre had again moved the High Court seeking its permission to impose the disciplinary action to dismiss Verma from service. The High Court permitted the Centre to implement the order but not before September 19. (ANI)