New Delhi, Aug 19: Twenty years after an IPS officer effected a seizure of 2500 gold biscuits valued at nearly Rs 6 crores, the Supreme Court has directed the Union government to pay him Rs 2.5 lakh as reward for his efforts under the incentive scheme of the government.
The order was passed by a bench comprising Justice S Rajendra Babu and Justice Doraiswamy Raju, which gave a quietus to the litigation on whether officers above a certain rank would be eligible for award scheme framed by the government.
The offiicer, R Padmanavan, who at the relevant time was serving as DIG of police northern range, Kozhikode in Kerala, had worked out an information, supervised and executed an operation leading to seizure of 900 gold biscuits valued at Rs 3.5 crore. He further monitored another operation leading to seizure of another 1600 gold biscuits.
Under the incentive-based scheme, Padmanavan sought reward but the request was declined by the government. The Keral High Court, however, directed the government to pay him the award as per rules.
The apex court, which set aside the high court order, was informed that a high-level committe has fixed his award at Rs 1.25 lakh. However, the bench, taking into account the facts and circumstances of the case, directed payment of Rs 2.50 lakh to the IPS officer within sixty days.

The court also directed the government to pay the officer an additional Rs 15,000 as cost for driving him to "unnecessary litigation".
Bureau Report