HC strictures against 2 DCPs

MUMBAI, June 11: The Bombay High Court today passed strictures against Deputy Commissioners of Police Vijay Kamble and Dilip Srirao for thei...

MUMBAI, June 11: The Bombay High Court today passed strictures against Deputy Commissioners of Police Vijay Kamble and Dilip Srirao for their callous, casual and irresponsible approach towards a retired Assistant Police Inspector API.Disposing of a petition filed by retired API Shankar Savada Chavan, a division bench comprising Justices A V Sawant and S Radhakrishnan also fined Kamble and Srirao, asking them to pay Rs 1000 each by way of costs to the retired police official.

This was the second instance of judicial action against senior police officials in the state in one year. Last year, the Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court had imposed exemplary cost on the then Additional Chief Secretary Home P Subramanian, and the then Commissioner of Police S C Malhotra, while disposing of an appeal filed by underworld don Arun Gawli.

The main allegation against Kamble, who is the Deputy Commissioner of Police Head Quarters and Srirao, who was then Deputy Commissioner of Police, Zone VI, is that theyforcibly evicted Chavan from his official quarter despite the fact that he had been granted permission to stay on by the state government.

In its statement against the two officials, the court did not accept the contention of Advocate General C J Sawant that the DCPs had committed just an act of omission. quot;This is not an act of omission, but it is a positive act, which has caused severe injury to Chavan as well as his family,quot; the court observed.

The court also granted liberty to Chavan to file a separate suit to claim damages from these police officers. The judges expressed that they had ordered the DCPs to pay Rs 1000 each as costs because in their view officers holding public posts should be made accountable for their failure to discharge the duties. The judges also turned down the prayer of the respondents to stay the order for six weeks to enable them to file an appeal. And, further rejected the plea of the additional government pleader that since liberty was given to petitioner to file a regularsuit for damages, the order may clarify that the observations of the judges should not in any way influence the trial.

The petitioner retired on April 30 last year after putting in 38 years of service. In view of some dispute regarding his retirement benefits, certain payments were withheld and hence he moved the Maharashtra Administrative Tribunal MAT to seek redressal. One of the prayers in the petition before MAT was that until his retirement dues were cleared he be allowed to stay in the official quarters. At one stage of the hearing, MAT granted ad interim relief restraining the police from evicting him from the quarters. Thereafter, various payments pertaining to retirement benefits were paid to him from time to time. Although the petitioner retired in April he continued to reside in the quarters for six months until October 24 when the MAT vacated its ad interim order. Within four days, he moved the state government and obtained an extension of stay in the quarters for six months till April 27this year. Copies of the government order were sent to concerned officers.

Despite official orders, he was forcibly evicted from the house on November 18 last. He then moved the High Court which allowed him to stay in the official quarters.