The Gujarat government has defended the appointment of P P Pandey, an accused in the murder of alleged terrorist Ishrat Jehan, as the Director General of Police in-charge in its affidavit filed in the Ahmedabad high court. It countered the contentions of former police officer Julio Rebeiro in a PIL and has argued that Rebeiro's arguments are not valid as Pandey has been appointed on a temporary basis.
The division bench of Chief Justice R Subhash Reddy and Justice V M Pancholi later posted the PIL for hearing on June 15.
Pandey is currently director of the Anti-Corruption Bureau and is holding the additional charge of state DGP since April following the unexpected transfer of P C Thakur to Delhi.
The affidavit also justified the appointment of Pandey as he was found to be the most suitable IPS officer for the in-charge DGP's post because of his seniority.
As to the PIL's contention that Pandey may interfere with the investigation against him by influencing the witnesses, the Government claimed that no such thing had happened ever since he took over as the in-charge DGP.
His bail conditions too did not say that he cannot be given a promotion or made an in-charge DGP, the reply said.
The special CBI court granted bail to Pandey in February in the Ishrat fake encounter case.
Rebeiro, who at one time had served as DGP in Gujarat, and acquired the moniker 'supercop' due to his success in battling the insurgency in Punjab later, contends that Pandey's authority due to his post will influence witnesses, many of whom are serving police officers.
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Gujarat defends appointment of Pandey as DGP in-charge
By IndianMandarins - 2016-06-12 11:00:17
The Gujarat government has defended the appointment of P P Pandey, an accused in the murder of alleged terrorist Ishrat Jehan, as the Director General of Police in-charge in its affidavit filed in the Ahmedabad high court. It countered the contentions of former police officer Julio Rebeiro in a PIL and has argued that Rebeiro's arguments are not valid as Pandey has been appointed on a temporary basis.
The division bench of Chief Justice R Subhash Reddy and Justice V M Pancholi later posted the PIL for hearing on June 15.
Pandey is currently director of the Anti-Corruption Bureau and is holding the additional charge of state DGP since April following the unexpected transfer of P C Thakur to Delhi.
The affidavit also justified the appointment of Pandey as he was found to be the most suitable IPS officer for the in-charge DGP's post because of his seniority.
As to the PIL's contention that Pandey may interfere with the investigation against him by influencing the witnesses, the Government claimed that no such thing had happened ever since he took over as the in-charge DGP.
His bail conditions too did not say that he cannot be given a promotion or made an in-charge DGP, the reply said.
The special CBI court granted bail to Pandey in February in the Ishrat fake encounter case.
Rebeiro, who at one time had served as DGP in Gujarat, and acquired the moniker 'supercop' due to his success in battling the insurgency in Punjab later, contends that Pandey's authority due to his post will influence witnesses, many of whom are serving police officers.
