Shimla – In a significant development, the Himachal Pradesh High Court has directed the removal of State Police DGP and Kangra SP from their positions. The division bench, comprising Chief Justice MS Ramachandra Rao and Justice Jyotsna Rewal Dua, directed the Home Secretary to take prompt action in implementing the court’s order.
This significant move by the High Court is a response to a case involving the security of Palampur businessman Nishant Kumar Sharma. The applicant, expressing apprehensions about threats to his and his family’s safety, approached the High Court through email. The court, treating the email as a criminal writ petition, issued an interim order mandating security provisions by SP Shimla and SP Kangra.
During the court proceedings, SP Kangra disclosed that the investigation of the FIR, filed based on the applicant’s complaint, had been reassigned to the Additional Superintendent of Police, Kangra. Notably, SP Shimla raised suspicions of senior officials’ involvement in the case. Further investigations by SP Shimla revealed that DGP Sanjay Kundu had been in contact with an influential person named by the businessman, making 15 missed calls to Nishant on October 27 and conducting surveillance on him.
The High Court, expressing concern over the circumstances, questioned the Home Secretary’s apparent disregard for the matter. Emphasizing the need not only for a fair investigation but also for justice to be visibly served, the court deemed it inappropriate for the officers to retain their current posts, prompting the order for their immediate removal.
A critical aspect of the case was the delay in filing the FIR by Kangra SP, who failed to provide reasons for the tardiness. Additionally, SP Kangra could not justify why the findings from the investigation conducted by SP Shimla were not utilized in the Kangra FIR probe.
The case came to the fore when Nishant Kumar Sharma reported a threat to his life and that of his family through an email to the High Court. He detailed an attack in Gurugram, surviving an attempt to withdraw his incident report, and receiving multiple calls from the DGP office. The email also mentioned pressure exerted on him to influence influential individuals in Himachal for extortion. Only after the court’s intervention did an FIR related to the applicant’s allegations get registered in the Kangra district.
