The SC directed the Kerala Govt on Monday to reinstate T P Senkumar (IPS:1983:KL) as the police chief who was, on 01 June 2016, replaced by Loknath Behera (IPS:1985: KL). Issuing the first such directive for reinstatement of a top cop, the Supreme Court invalidated Kerala Govt's order dated June 1, 2016, hereby T P Senkumar (IPS:1983: KL) was shunted out as DGP and made CMD of Kerala Police Housing and Construction Corporation Ltd (KPHCCL). The bench also quashed the orders passed by CAT and the High Court, which had maintained that the state government's decision was not mala fide and that it had the authority to transfer Senkumar in view of "serious dissatisfaction in general public about efficiency of police in his jurisdiction". Examining the Kerala Police Act 2011, which assures a minimum tenure of two years for DGPs, the court said there was no justification in law to displace Senkumar before the end of his term. Senkumar was appointed in May 2015. The court added that the state government's orders to remove top police officials prematurely cannot be treated as immune from judicial review since this would make the citizen's struggle against executive arbitrariness irrelevant and "this court would be surrendering its constitutional obligation." Senkumar was removed on the basis of two notes by the state's Additional Home Secretary, indicting him for Puttingal Temple tragedy in Kollam in which more than 100 people lost their lives. The government blamed him for allegedly protecting erring police officials. The second case related to alleged laxity in the initial probe into the murder of a Dalit girl. But in his affidavit in the court, Senkumar said the CPM was acting malaciously against him since he had conducted honest probe into the murders of RMP leader T P Chandrasekharan, Muslim League activist Ariyil Shukkoor and RSS leader Kathiroor Manoj. The involvement of CPM leaders in all these cases was alleged. The bench noted that there was nothing to hold Senkumar directly responsible for any lapses.