The Supreme Court on Monday agreed with the Gujarat government’s acceptance of an offer by Director-General of Police P.P. Pandey to forego his extension till April 30 and step down from the top police post.
A Bench of Chief Justice of India J.S. Khehar and D.Y. Chandrachud recorded the State’s submission that Mr. Pandey wrote to express his willingness to resign forthwith and not wait till April 30.
The court had, on March 2, 2017, sought a response from Gujarat on a petition filed by former Mumbai Police Commissioner Julio Francis Ribeiro against the elevation and three-month extension given to Mr. Pandey, who is out on bail in the Ishrat Jahan fake encounter case.
However, the Bench said the petition had become infructuous with Mr. Pandey stepping down.
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Mr. Ribeiro, had argued in March that Mr. Pandey was granted bail, reinstated, promoted and rewarded despite being an accused in a murder case. The Centre’s Appointments Committee of the Cabinet had granted three-month extension to Mr. Pandey, who was to retire on January 31.
Mr. Pandey was heading the State Crime Branch when Ishrat, a 19-year-old Mumbai-based girl, Javed Shaikh alias Pranesh Pillai, Amjadali Akbarali Rana and Zeeshan Johar were killed in an encounter on the outskirts of Ahmedabad on June 15, 2004.
After release on bail, Mr. Pandey was reinstated in February 2015 and made the Director of the State Anti-Corruption Bureau. On April 16 last year, he was appointed in-charge police chief of Gujarat.
