Supreme Court Agrees To Hear Himachal DGP's Plea Against His Removal

The Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to hear the January 3 plea of Himachal Pradesh Director General of Police Sanjay Kundu, who challenged the High Court's order to shift him to another post to ensure that he doesn't influence the probe into the alleged harassment of Palampur businessman Nishant Sharma.

A bench of Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra agreed to hear the plea on January 3 after senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, representing Kundu, sought urgent listing of the case.

Mr Rohatgi mentioned the matter today before the top court, saying the police officer was not heard by the High Court, which before passing the order on December 26, directed the state government to shift him.

Mr Rohatgi said, "According to the High Court, he (DGP) should be transferred out of his post in regard to some inquiry that is to be taken without hearing us."

The top court, which agreed to hear the case today itself, said it would hear it on Wednesday at the request of Mr Rohatgi.

Sanjay Kundu was on Tuesday removed from the post of Himachal DGP and posted as Principal Secretary, Ayush department.

The Himachal Pradesh High Court had on December 26 ordered the State government to shift the DGP and Kangra Superintendent of Police Shalini Agnihotri to other posts before January 4, 2024 to ensure that "they didn't have an opportunity to influence the investigation".

The businessman had sought the High Court's intervention on the grounds that he needed protection from powerful people as he was living in constant fear of being killed.

While passing the order, the High Court, however, made it clear that it was not expressing any opinion on the merits of the claims of the parties as the investigation was still incomplete.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)