New Delhi – The Supreme Court of India has intervened in the controversial transfer of Himachal Pradesh’s Director General of Police (DGP), Sanjay Kundu, staying the Himachal Pradesh High Court’s directive that ordered the state government to shift the senior IPS officer from his current position.
A bench of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, alongside Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, granted Sanjay Kundu the liberty to file a recall application before the high court to contest its December 26 order. Until the recall application is decided, the Supreme Court temporarily suspends the transfer order.
The apex court asked the high court to expedite the process and dispose of the recall application within two weeks.
This development comes after Sanjay Kundu filed a petition challenging his removal as the DGP of Himachal Pradesh. The high court had ordered his transfer over allegations that he attempted to exert pressure on a businessman who claimed to have received threats to his life from associates.
Kundu’s legal counsel argued before the Supreme Court that the case was “extraordinary” as the high court did not allow the officer to present his side before directing the state government to transfer him.
Following the high court’s order, the Himachal Pradesh Government issued a transfer order on Tuesday, relocating Sanjay Kundu to the Ayush department as the principal secretary.
In response, the state government gave an additional DGP charge to Satwant Atwal Trivedi, a 1996 batch IPS officer of the Himachal Pradesh cadre.
This legal battle has attracted significant attention as it involves the transfer of a top police official. The Supreme Court’s decision to stay the transfer order adds another layer of complexity to the ongoing controversy surrounding Sanjay Kundu’s removal as the DGP of Himachal Pradesh.
