For Senior Cop Facing Dismissal, 1-Week Relief From Supreme Court

The Supreme Court Monday stayed for a week, the Centre's decision dismissing Satish Chandra Verma, a senior IPS officer who had assisted the CBI in its investigation into the alleged fake encounter case of Ishrat Jahan in Gujarat.

Mr Verma was dismissed from the service on August 30, a month before his scheduled retirement on September 30.

A bench of Justices KM Joseph and Hrishikesh Roy allowed Mr Verma to approach the Delhi High Court challenging his dismissal and said it is for the high court to consider the question as to whether the stay or vacation of dismissal order is to continue.

We are of the view that in the facts of this case, the interests of justice would require that order passed by the respondent dismissing the appellant is not to be implemented till one week from today," the bench said. Mr Verma had moved to the Supreme Court after the High Court allowed the Home Ministry to take action against him in the wake 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.

Mr Verma had probed the Ishrat Jahan case of 2004 between April 2010 and October 2011.   Based on his investigation report, a Special Investigation Team held that the encounter was "fake".

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