The Supreme Court on Thursday asked the Tamil Nadu government to clarify whether the investigation against Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) H M Jayaram in a kidnapping case can be transferred to the Special Branch or the Crime Investigation Department (CID).
A bench comprising Justices Ujjal Bhuyan and Manmohan issued the direction after the state submitted that Jayaram’s suspension should continue until the completion of the investigation. Appearing for the Tamil Nadu government, senior advocate Siddharth Dave told the court that Jayaram’s suspension was not solely based on the Madras High Court’s June 16 order in the kidnapping case, but also stemmed from other serious allegations.
Dave asserted that the suspension was in line with service rules, which permit such action when a criminal investigation is pending against a police officer.
The bench further indicated that it is considering transferring the kidnapping case — currently pending before a judge of the Madras High Court — to another judge. Dave refrained from commenting directly on the conduct of the high court judge but noted that the judge was dragging multiple unrelated cases into the matter involving Jayaram.
The apex court directed Dave to seek instructions from the state government during the day regarding the possibility of transferring the probe to either the Special Branch or the CID and report back to the court.
The case relates to a kidnapping allegation filed after a girl reportedly eloped with a boy on April 5. On June 16, the Madras High Court had directed the police to take Jayaram into custody in connection with the case. The Supreme Court was told that Jayaram was taken into custody and released at around 5 p.m. on Tuesday, before being suspended from service.
