Gujarat cadre IPS officer who probed Ishrat Jahan encounter dismissed; HC stays order till September 19

New Delhi, September 13

Satish Chandra Verma, a senior IPS officer who had assisted the CBI in its investigation into the alleged fake encounter case of Ishrat Jahan in Gujarat, was dismissed from the service on August 30, a month before his scheduled retirement on September 30, officials said on Tuesday.

However, the Delhi High Court while hearing a plea by Verma directed the Union Home Ministry not to implement the dismissal order till September 19 so that the 1986-batch Gujarat cadre IPS officer could approach a higher court to get relief, they said.

If the dismissal of Verma comes into effect, he will not be entitled to pension and other benefits.

The senior police officer was last posted as inspector general with the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) in Tamil Nadu, the officials said.

Verma has moved the Supreme Court after the Delhi High Court allowed the home ministry to take action against him in the wake of a departmental inquiry that proved the charges against him, including interacting “with public media” when he was chief vigilance officer of the North Eastern Electric Power Corporation, Shillong.

While passing its final order, the high court had on August 30 said the disciplinary proceedings against Verma shall not be implemented without the court’s permission if it is prejudicial to him.

Following this order, the central government again moved the high court seeking its permission to impose the disciplinary action to dismiss Verma from service. Permitting the Centre to implement the order, a division bench of the high court said, “It is directed that the order shall not be implemented till September 19, 2022, to enable the petitioner to avail of his remedies in accordance with law against the order of dismissal.”

Subsequently, Verma has approached the Supreme Court that is yet to hear the case.

Verma had probed the Ishrat Jahan case between April 2010 and October 2011 and on the basis of his investigation report that a Special Investigation Team had held that the encounter was “fake”.

The Gujarat High Court later directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to probe the case and avail Verma’s services.