Central Administrative Tribunal stays IPS officer’s suspension

HYDERABAD: A Hyderabad bench of the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) on Tuesday stayed the suspension of B Naveen Kumar, ASP of Rampachodavaram in East Godavari district.
Earlier, the state suspended him after his public utterances against the SP of the district and also against a DG rank officer in Hyderabad. Going to the media against senior police officials was seen as gross indiscipline by the government.
The bench comprising Justice P Swarup Reddy and R Santanam, which heard the arguments of Naveen through his counsel, said that addressing the media in itself did not constitute an offence or indiscipline.
Referring to the ASP’s contentions that he was targeted by the ganja mafia because he was controlling them effectively, the bench said, “If what Naveen is saying is right, he deserves support from the higher ups, not harassment. Moreover, the suspension order served on him did not cite any valid rules pertaining to the IPS officers’ conduct”.
The bench also directed the authorities to file their counter and said that their order would not stop the state from shifting Naveen from his current posting.