Ishrat Jahan case: HC upholds dismissal of IPS officer

One-liner: The Delhi HC on Wednesday upheld a central govt order dismissing former IPS officer Satish Chandra Verma, who assisted the CBI in its probe in the Ishrat Jahan fake encounter case, a month before his scheduled retirement.

Guilty of various charges: Verma, a 1986-batch Gujarat Cadre IPS officer, was dismissed from service on Aug 30 last year, a month ahead of his scheduled retirement on Sept 30, 2022, after a departmental inquiry found him guilty of various charges, including interacting with public media.

HC approached: Verma had approached the HC following the SC's order allowing him to file a plea there.

Media interaction: A bench said there was no reason to interfere with the findings returned by the inquiry authority or the order passed by the disciplinary authority when the petitioner himself has not denied the media interaction which was done without any permission or authorisation.

• The interaction with the media was not in the bonafide discharge of the petitioner's duties, the court observed

No merit in writ petition: "We find no merit in the writ petition. The same is accordingly dismissed," ruled the bench.

Allegations: The allegations against Verma were that he interacted with public media on March 2 and 3, 2016, and, in an interview with a news channel without any authorisation from the competent authority, spoke unauthorisedly on matters which were not within the sphere of his duties.

Criticism of Central and state govts: It was alleged that he made a statement of fact and opinion in the encounter matter which had the effect of an adverse criticism of Central and state govts.