The Supreme Court on Wednesday passed an interim order staying the direction passed by the Himachal Pradesh High Court which had asked the state government to shift senior IPS official Sanjay Kundu from the post of Director General of Police (DGP).
A bench presided over by CJI D.Y. Chandrachud asked Kundu -- a 1989-batch IPS officer -- to approach the HP High Court with an application seeking recall of order removing him from the post of DGP.
The bench, also comprising Justices J.B. Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, requested the High Court to decide his application within a period of two weeks.
In the meantime, the government order shifting Kundu as Principal Secretary of Ayush Department will remain stayed, the bench ordered.
It may be recalled that a 1996-batch IPS officer, Satwant Atwal Trivedi, was given the additional charge of the post of DGP in place of Kundu on January 3 following the High Court directive.
In an order passed on December 26, the High Court had directed the state government to shift the state police chief and the Kangra Superintendent of Police so they "do not have any opportunity to influence investigation in an alleged intimidation of a businessman".
A bench of Chief Justice M.S. Ramachandra Rao and Justice Jyotsna Rewal Dua of the High Court had directed the Home Secretary to shift the two Indian Police Service (IPS) officers to some other posts to ensure that fair investigation happens in the FIRs registered on a complaint of Palampur-based businessman Nishant Sharma, who alleged threat to his and his family’s life and levelled allegations against DGP Kundu.
Sharma, in his complaint, had alleged threat to him, his family and property from his partners and cited an incident of “brutal attack” on him in Gurugram on August 25, saying two influential people of Himachal, including a former IPS officer, were identified in the CCTV footage.
Kundu petitioned the apex court saying that he was not given any opportunity of hearing by the High Court before passing the impugned order.