The Madras High Court on Monday dismissed a public interest litigation petition seeking to quash the appointment of K. Ramanujam as the head of the Tamil Nadu Police and a consequential order by which his services were impliedly extended for two years from December 1 this year.
A Division Bench, comprising Justices V. Ramasubramanian and M.M. Sundresh, said an appointment could be challenged through a petition for quo warranto only if the incumbent lacked the eligibility or suitability to the post.
In the petition, M. Suresh Kumar of Anna Nagar West here said Mr. Ramanujam should be restrained from functioning as DGP, Tamil Nadu, and head of the force from December 1. But for a G.O. the official should have retired from service on November 30.
The petitioner said as the recommendations of the National Police Commission were not implemented for several reasons and compulsions, one Prakash Singh, a retired IPS officer, filed a writ petition before the Supreme Court to frame a new Police Act in order to ensure that the police were made accountable essentially and primarily to the law of the land and the people.
State Security Commission
In its order on September 22, 2006, the Supreme Court directed among other things formation of a State Security Commission (SSC) and fixing the minimum tenure of DGP. The petitioner said the very appointment of Mr. Ramanujam by the State Government was without any jurisdiction and justification.
The Supreme Court in its direction had said that State Governments should constitute SSC. But till date it had not been implemented. Therefore, the Chief Secretary had no jurisdiction to appoint Mr. Ramanujam without implementing the direction.
The Bench said the argument of non-compliance of the first direction could not be raised before the High Court as it had been done as per the Supreme Court’s order in the Prakash Singh case.
