Supreme Court Refuses To Stay Dismissal Of Ishrat Jahan Case Probe Officer Satish Chandra Verma IPS, Requests Delhi HC To Hear His Challenge Soon

The Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to stay the Union Government's order dismissing Gujarat cadre IPS officer Satish Chandra Verma from service.

A bench comprising Justices KM Joseph an Hrishikesh Roy observed that the Court is not inclined to interfere with the Delhi High Court's order refusing to stay the dismissal order, as it was an interim order.

"At the same time, having heard the senior counsel, we are of the view that the impugned order must be modified to facilitate an earlier disposal of the writ petition. Accordingly, we direct that the writ petition 10539/2021 shall stand listed before the High Court on the 22nd of November 2022. The pleadings are to be completed by the parties well before that date. We request the High Court to dispose of the matter as early as possible preferably within a period of (...unclear) months from 22 November 2022", the bench dictated the order.

The bench clarified that it has not expressed anything on the merits of the matter.

The High Court, while refusing to grant interim relief, had posted Verma's matter to January 24, 2013 for hearing.

The IPS Officer had assisted the Gujarat HC-appointed Special Investigation Team (SIT) in the probe of 2004 Ishrat Jahan case. The Home Ministry dismissed Verma on August 30, when he was due to retire on September 30. One of the grounds for dismissal includes "talking to the media which dented the country's international relations". The disciplinary proceedings were initiated in 2016 after Verma spoke to the media denying the allegations of torture in the Ishrat Jahan case probe.