Chandigarh, April 25
Less than a month after the Central Administrative Tribunal quashed the orders placing Punjab’s former director-general of police S.S. Virk under suspension, the Punjab and Haryana High Court today stayed the judgment’s operation.
The orders, by the Division Bench of Mr Justice Hemant Gupta and Mr Justice Mohinder Pal, on Punjab’s petition came as a major setback to Virk, who was hoping to join his parent cadre of Maharashtra.
Following the high court orders, Virk for the time being continues to be under suspension, despite order in his favour from the tribunal’s Maharashtra Bench, legal experts believe.
Sources close to Virk said the former DGP “is all set to move the apex court against the high court orders”.
Reacting to the development, advocate-general Hardev Singh Mattewal, on the other hand, said the orders had vindicated the state’s stand in the matter.
The orders, he elaborated, went a long way to indicate that the state had not acted in a vindictive manner; and was functioning in a fair and unbiased way.
Meanwhile, pronouncing the orders in an open court after hearing arguments in the matter for almost the entire day, the Bench also issued notice of motion to the Union of India and Maharashtra.
Fixing May 21 as the next date of hearing, the Judges observed the suspension order had been passed, and the suspension extended in accordance with Rule 3 of the All India Service (Discipline and Appeal) Rules, 1969. Therefore, prima facie, the order of the tribunal ought to be stayed.
Virk’s arguments regarding antedating of the order also did not find favour with the Bench as it had not been argued before the tribunal.
As the case was placed before the Bench this morning, state counsel Chetan Mittal, accompanied by advocate Puneet Gupta, contended that it was imperative to stay the operation of the tribunal’s orders as directions to post Virk had been issued on another application filed before the tribunal’s Maharashtra Bench.
Counsel argued the tribunal’s judgment was not sustainable as an earlier order dated April 10, 2007, on Virk’s premature repatriation was admittedly passed by the competent authority of the Central government without noticing the suspension order dated April 4, 2007.
Quoting the Union of India’s written statement, counsel said Virk had suo motu joined Maharashtra on April 27 last year.
Counsel further argued that even if as per the rules the Central government’s decision was final, Virk still couldn’t join suo motu, unless relieved by Punjab.
They said in September 2007 on account of his arrest in a case registered under the Prevention of Corruption Act, his services were deemed to be suspended under the rules.
Virk’s counsel Rajiv Atma Ram, on the other hand, said the former DGP had been sent back by the Central government to Maharashtra and had joined there in April last year. He added the suspension order was neither legally extended nor reviewed by the competent authority.
As the suspension order dated April 4 last year had ‘lapsed’, Virk was deemed to be not under suspension since December 2007.
