New Delhi: In a relief to former Karnataka DGP SM Bidari, the Supreme Court on Friday stayed an order quashing his appointment as state police chief.
A bench of justices KS Radhakrishnan and CK Prasad, however, did not pass any order for his reappointment to the post from which he was removed after the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) had quashed his appointment. Bidari approached the apex court challenging Karnataka High Court`s May 28 order which had held that Bidari`s empanelment for the post of state police chief was vitiated as the state government had not placed before the empanelling authority the report of the NHRC`s panel on atrocities committed by the Special Task Force (STF), headed by Bidari, during the operation to arrest elusive forest brigand Veerappan. It had dismissed his petition after reviewing findings of the Justice Sadashiva panel, which probed the alleged atrocities committed by the STF headed by Bidari to nab Veerappan.
The high court had noted that there is a specific reference to Bidari`s name in the Sadashiva panel report which was in nature of adverse comments upon his functioning as a commandant of the Task Force.
"As the said panel report/NHRC orders are withheld from the UPSC/not placed before the UPSC, the empanelment of the third respondent by the UPSC is vitiated and consequently the order appointing the third respondent as the DG and IGP of Karnataka is also vitiated," it had said.
PTI