Karnataka govt moves HC challenging CAT order reinstating IPS officer suspended over stampede
Bengaluru, Jul 2 (PTI): The Karnataka government on Wednesday approached the High Court challenging the Central Administrative Tribunal’s (CAT) order reinstating Additional Commissioner of Police Vikash Kumar Vikash, who was suspended following the tragic stampede at Chinnaswamy Stadium here last month, which claimed 11 lives and injured 56 others.
The Tribunal, on July 1, quashed Vikash’s suspension, terming the state’s action as "mechanical" and lacking substantial grounds.
The Bengaluru bench of the tribunal comprising BK Shrivastava and Santosh Mehra held that the state failed to present convincing material to justify the suspension.
"The order has not been based on convincing materials… the officers have been suspended without sufficient material or grounds," the Tribunal said, directing the state to reinstate Vikash immediately.
In response, the state government filed a writ petition before the Karnataka High Court, contending that the CAT overstepped its jurisdiction by making determinations on the incident without the benefit of a full-fledged departmental inquiry.
It termed the Tribunal’s reasoning as "perverse" and inconsistent with established legal principles concerning suspension.
According to the government, substantial supporting material—including extracts from the Karnataka Police Manual and a detailed chronology of events from June 3 and 4—was submitted in a sealed cover to the Tribunal, which it alleged was not properly considered.
"Despite placing material on record justifying the suspension, the Tribunal failed to assess it in the right perspective," the state argued.
The plea also disputes the Tribunal’s interpretation of inquiries underway, stating that a magisterial probe and a one-man commission were in progress, and that the state had already taken disciplinary action based on preliminary findings.
A departmental inquiry, initiated at the direction of the central government, is reportedly at an advanced stage. The government claimed this development was communicated orally to the Tribunal on June 30 but was overlooked in the final judgment.
Additionally, the petition objects to the Tribunal’s remarks on four other officers—B Dayananda, Shekar H Tekkannavar, C Balakrishna, and AK Girish—who were also suspended following the stampede.
The government pointed out that these officers had not challenged their suspension, nor were they parties to the case before the Tribunal.
It called the Tribunal’s suggestion of reinstating them "highly irregular", arguing that such observations were made without examining individual roles, service records, or factual context.
The High Court is yet to schedule a hearing on the state’s plea.
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Mother arrested for killing five-month-old child in Tripura
Agartala (PTI): Tripura Police has arrested a woman for allegedly killing her five-month-old child in Sepahijala district, officials said on Monday.
Initial investigation revealed that Suchitra Debbarma (28) killed her infant to pave the way for her plan to elope with a man she had been in a relationship with for a year.
After receiving information from Suchitra's neighbours, a police team headed by officer-in-charge of Sonamura police station Tapas Das went to their house at Rampadapara on Sunday.
"We found the baby lying on a bed while her mother was missing. We took the child to Sonamura sub-divisional hospital, where doctors declared the baby dead. Post-mortem will be conducted soon," he said.
According to Das, Suchitra was later arrested from the village.
"Prima facie, it appeared that Suchitra strangled her child to death when her husband, Amit Debbarma, went out for work at a rubber plantation. During interrogation, she admitted that she wanted to kill the baby and elope with another man with whom she had an extramarital affair," he said.
