Punjab and Haryana High Court reinstates IGP Umaranangal suspended in 2015 police firing case

The Punjab and Haryana High Court recently set aside the suspension of Inspector General of Police (IGP) Param Raj Singh Umaranangal who was suspended for his alleged role in the 2015 police firing that took place amid protests against sacrilege incidents concerning the Guru Granth Sahib in Punjab..A bench of Justice Sureshwar Thakur and Justice Sudeepti Sharma set aside three suspension orders (passed in 2019, 2020, and 2021) against the police officer after finding that there was a violation of the procedure to be followed in such cases. The Court added that the State cannot pick and choose rules or pass orders without following the procedure mentioned in the rules."It is very unfortunate to observe that on the one hand the petitioner is awarded with two Gallantry Awards for rendering his meritorious service in combating with terrorism in the State of Punjab, but on the other hand the State Government has placed the petitioner under Suspension since 18.02.2019 till date i.e. for a period of almost five years without following any procedure, without any extension, without any recommendation of Central Review Committee, without any confirmation by the Central Government, which doubts the intention of the officers who are passing the suspension orders one after the other," the Court found..Umaranangal faced suspension in 2019 after being named as an accused in the Kotkapura police firing case that occurred in 2015.He was suspended in view of criminal cases registered over the matter, in which trial is yet to be completed. He moved the High Court for relief after the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) denied his plea for reinstatement on February 1, 2023. .The police officer's counsel pointed out that under the All India Services (Discipline and Appeal) Rules, 1969 (as amended in 2015), if a member of an All-India Service is suspended on charges other than corruption, the period of suspension should not exceed one year.The counsel added that the continuation of suspension beyond one year can only be allowed based on the recommendations of the Review Committee of the Central Ministry.The State government, however, maintained that there was no legal infirmity in suspending the police officer from service until the trial in the three criminal cases filed against him were completed. .After hearing rival submissions, the Court observed that in every case, a review of the suspension has to be done within 90 days from the date of the order of the suspension. Further, in a case where the period of suspension is extended, the next review has to be done within 180 days from the date of the last extension, it added.However, these rules were found to have been ignored in the Umaranangal's case. ."Whereas in the present case order dated 20.11.2020 is passed as per the recommendation of review committee constituted under Rule 3 (8) (c) of the All India Services (Discipline and Appeal) Rules, 1969 and this is passed after a period of about 630 days, meaning thereby the State Government totally ignored the Rules as well as Schedule while passing order against the petitioner," the Court noted..The Court added that the State government is expected to adhere to the rules and the procedure as laid down by the law's makers.The Court also noted that the Central government had supported the police officer's case with respect to the interpretation of the rules to be followed before passing suspension orders. "A bare perusal of the stand taken by the Union of India shows that respondent No.1 has supported the case of the petitioner by giving interpretation with regard to the period of suspension mentioned in Rule 3(8) of the All India Services (Discipline and Appeal) Rules, 1969," the Court noted..Referring to various case laws, the Court further observed that, "one cannot be kept in suspension for an indefinite period in the garb of pending enquiry/ investigation in criminal proceedings.".The Court proceeded to allow the police officer's plea and directed the State to promptly permit Umaranangal to resume his services..Senior Advocate DS Patwalia along with advocates GS Patwalia and SS Saron appeared for IGP Umaranangal.Advocate Ashish Rawal appeared for the Union of India.Additional Advocate General RK Kapoor appeared for the Punjab government. .[Read Order]