Sanjay Kundu shifted out as Himachal DGP; Supreme Court to take up his plea today

Shimla/New Delhi, January 2

Acting on an order by the Himachal Pradesh High Court, the state government today removed Sanjay Kundu from the post of Director General of Police (DGP) and appointed him the Principal Secretary, Ayush.

Action on hc order

• Himachal HC had on Dec 26 told the govt to shift the DGP
• Order came on a plea by a businessman, alleging harassment
• The HC said removal must to ensure fair probe in the case

Addl charge for atwal

• HP Govt has given additional charge of DGP to Satwant Atwal Trivedi, ADG, Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau
• The 1996-batch IPS officer got the charge in 2022 too when Kundu was on leave

Race for Successor

• As per seniority, 1989-batch IPS officer Sanjeev Ranjan Ojha is frontrunner to be DGP
• Back from Central deputation, he is posted as DG, Prisons
• Next in line is Shyam Bhagat Negi of 1990 batch, currently on Central deputation

Though the Himachal government is yet to name the successor of Kundu, whose appeal against the High Court order is to be heard in the Supreme Court tomorrow, it has given the additional charge of DGP to Satwant Atwal Trivedi. A 1996-batch IPS officer, Atwal is the ADG, State Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau, and was given the responsibility last year as well when DGP Kundu had proceeded on leave.

A three-judge Bench led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud on Tuesday agreed to hear his petition on January 3 after senior counsel Mukul Rohatgi mentioned the matter on his behalf for urgent hearing. The Bench, which was initially inclined to take up Kundu’s petition challenging the December 26 order of the High Court during the day, later posted it for hearing on Wednesday. Rohatgi said it was “extraordinary” as the High Court did not hear the IPS officer before directing the state government to shift him.

The High Court had on December 26 ordered the government to shift the DGP and Kangra SP Shalini Agnihotri to other posts before January 4 (2024) to ensure “they didn’t have an opportunity to influence the investigation” into the alleged harassment of Palampur-based businessman Nishant Sharma. Agnihotri hasn’t been shifted yet.

In a complaint to the High Court, Nishant had alleged threat to his life from “two extremely rich and well-connected persons, a former IPS officer and a lawyer, as the complainant and his father had not yielded to their pressure”. The HC, while maintaining that “exceptional circumstances did exist for its intervention”, said it was desirable that the DGP and the SP must be shifted out to “ensure fair investigation in the FIRs lodged in the case”. While passing the order, the HC, however, made it clear that it was not expressing any opinion on the merits of the claims of the parties as the investigation was still incomplete.