The Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to interfere with the Delhi High Court’s decision that supported the reinstatement of Gurjinder Pal Singh, a senior IPS officer from Chhattisgarh who had been compulsorily retired amidst allegations of corruption, extortion, and sedition. The bench, comprising Justices Hrishikesh Roy and S V N Bhatti, effectively dismissed the Centre’s appeal, endorsing the earlier rulings by both the High Court and the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT).
In its judgment on August 23, the Delhi High Court had rejected the Centre’s challenge against the CAT’s order, which had overturned Singh’s compulsory retirement issued on July 20, 2023. The CAT also directed Singh’s reinstatement with all consequential benefits, criticizing the handling of his case.
The Centre had argued that the retirement order was justified in public interest under the service rules, accusing the CAT of overstepping its bounds by evaluating evidence related to criminal complaints and disciplinary actions against Singh. However, the High Court found no substantial faults in Singh’s service record that would warrant such a retirement. It highlighted the absence of strong evidence linking Singh to the allegations based on statements from Mani Bhushan, an SBI officer involved in related investigations.
The High Court also noted procedural lapses in handling the disciplinary actions against Singh, including significant delays and the failure to appoint an inquiry officer within three years. It further criticized the reopening of proceedings in an alleged abetment of suicide case against Singh, where earlier a CBI closure report had been accepted by the court, viewing it as an attempt to harass him.
In presenting his case to the Supreme Court, Singh argued that the actions against him were part of a broader attempt by Chhattisgarh government officials to harass him due to his refusal to extend “illegal favours” and to falsely implicate members of the erstwhile government in the so-called Nagrik Apurti Nigam scam.
