THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: With the Supreme Court slated to consider DGP T P Senkumar’s contempt plea against the government on Friday, the state government is most likely to approach SC seeking further clarifications on the judgment on Wednesday. Reliable sources said the government is not likely to take a decision on the matter in the Cabinet meeting to be held on Wednesday.
However, earlier in the day, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had informed the Assembly the apex court’s judgment is ‘final’ and the government is bound to implement the order.
Sources said the government wanted clarifications on the appointment of Loknath Behera, Jacob Thomas and N Shanker Reddy as all the appointments had been made on a single order issued by the government removing Senkumar from the post of State Police Chief on June 1, 2016.
Therefore, the government is likely to file a clarification petition on Wednesday. The government has also expressed displeasure over Senkumar’s sudden move of filing contempt of court petition, sources said.
Earlier, Senkumar’s lawyer Dushyant Dave desisted from listing the contempt of court petition before the SC on Monday indicating a consensus with the government.
He was to present the case before the SC Bench which had issued the order instructing the government to reinstate Senkumar.
If Senkumar is re-appointed, then Loknath Behera is likely to hold the post of Vigilance Director as the former Vigilance chief Jacob Thomas has requested the government to extend his leave for another month.
The government had sought legal advice from senior lawyers, including Harish Salve, to challenge the judgment.
This prompted Senkumar to file a contempt plea on Saturday. In the plea, Chief Secretary Nalini Netto was arraigned as the respondent. Senkumar, in his petition, had sought an extension of his service period to compensate for the loss of service in the past one year. He also said the government was sitting on the judgment for days to delay his reappointment.
The SC issued the landmark verdict reinstating Senkumar on April 24. The judgment favouring Senkumar came after his 11-month-long legal battle with the government.
Govt wants clarifications
Sources said the government is likely to file a clarification petition in the apex court on Wednesday. The government has also expressed displeasure over Senkumar’s sudden move of filing contempt of court petition.