Govt seeks legal opinion over reinstatement of Senkumar
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Thiruvananthapuram: The State government on Friday sought legal opinion from Supreme Court Advocate Harish Salve regarding the reinstatement of T.P. Senkumar as the state police chief.
The government has asked legal assistance from the senior advocate over the new post for present DGP Loknath Behra, who replaced Senkumar.
Behra is also holding the additional charge of the Vigilance Department after its chief Jacob Thomas was asked to proceed on leave in March. Thomas’ posting, once he came back, is also an issue for the government.
Four days after the Supreme Court ruled in T.P. Senkumar's favour, the LDF government is yet to reinstate Senkumar as the state police chief.
On Monday, the Supreme Court ordered the government to restore him as the Director General of Police after noting that his removal in May last year was "arbitrary".
On Wednesday, Law Secretary P.G. Harindranath submitted a report that Senkumar should be appointed without further delay.
The Vijayan government removed Senkumar in 2016 after a public outcry over alleged mishandling of a temple fire tragedy and a murder case.
Senkumar, meanwhile, has written to Chief Secretary Nalini Netto, saying that he should be allowed to rejoin duty.
Senkumar, who is set to retire on June 30, dispelled media speculation that he may go on leave after rejoining duty. Instead, he promised to work till the day he retires.
