The Cabinet on Wednesday granted a two-year extension of service to State Police Chief Anil Kanth. He was due to retire on January 31, 2022, and the continuation in service would kick in with retrospective effect from July 1, 2021.
The decision comes against the backdrop of the Supreme Court's direction to State administration to ensure a minimum two-year term for State Police Chiefs. The 1988 batch officer would remain in saddle till June 30, 2023.
Earlier, the Government had considered the names of three ranking officers, Tomin. J. Thachankery, B. Sandhya and Sudhesh Kumar, to the top post. However, given the current calculus, the officers were likely to retire before the end of Mr. Kant's tenure.
Mr. Kant had commenced his service in Kerala cadre as ASP, Wayanad. He had also served in the Intelligence Bureau in New Delhi and Shillong.