Former Kerala DGP T.P. Senkumar on Saturday moved the Supreme Court to initiate contempt of court proceedings against the State's Chief Secretary, Nalini Netto, for not issuing the official orders re-appointing him to the helm of the police force.
The Supreme Court had found his removal as Kerala DGP illegal and ordered the Pinarayi Vijayan-led LDF government to reinstate him.
Mr. Senkumar termed Ms. Netto's alleged reluctance to issue orders to re-instate him "willful and deliberate disobedience" of the Supreme Court.
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He said Ms. Netto was the "primary component", which led to his ouster on June 1, 2016. Ms. Netto had "created" the reasons for his removal, and now wanted to circumvent or at least delay his re-instatement, he alleged.
The Supreme Court, in a detailed judgment on April 24, 2017, found the Kerala government's decision to remove him on the ground of poor performance as DGP — especially in the aftermath of the Puttingal temple fire tragedy and the Jisha murder case — to be arbitrary, unsubstantiated and unfair. The judgment served a blow to the Vijayan government, especially after Mr. Senkumar personally attacked the Chief Minister for ''political motives'' in the court.
In his contempt petition, filed through senior advocate Dushyant Dave and advocate Haris Beeran, Mr. Senkumar detailed the alleged reluctance of Ms. Netto and the State establishment to have him back as police chief.
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He said he had written to the Chief Secretary the very next day after the Supreme Court judgment and followed it up shortly with a second communication annexing a certified copy of the Supreme Court verdict.
"The intention of the Respondent Contemnor [Netto], who is the authority to issue orders of reinstatement, seems to delay the implementation wilfully so that the petitioner [Senkumar] will not get the fruits of the decree which he has got. The Contemnor is also conscious of the fact that once this Hon’ble Court closes for summer recess on 9th may 2017, it reopens only on 3rd July, 2017 which will make the petitioner remediless and thus frustrate the judgment of this Hon’ble Court," Mr. Senkumar submitted.
The petition contended that Ms. Netto was acting in gross contempt of the Supreme Court.
He said his retirement is due in over a month's time and the State is trying to wait it out. In fact, Mr. Senkumar repeats his contention raised earlier that he should be given the portion of his two-year tenure that he lost when he was unceremoniously removed in 2016 in violation of the Prakash Singh judgment of the SC, which directed that DGPs should enjoy a fixed two-year tenure.
"It is submitted that this Hon’ble Court may consider to extend the tenure of the petitioner as State police chief for the period which was illegally taken off from him," Mr. Senkunar contended.
The petitioner was appointed as the police chief on May 22, 2015 for a period of two years and he was removed, illegally on June 1, 2016.