IPS officer who probed Ishrat Jahan encounter moves SC over dismissal

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, has moved the Supreme court of India over his dismissal from the service.

Verma was dismissed by the home ministry on Aug 30, a month before he was to retire on September 30.

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

According to reports the home ministry took 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.

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

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

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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.

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