The Supreme Court on Thursday transferred the investigation against ADGP H M Jayaram to the CB-CID after the Tamil Nadu government said it wants his suspension to continue till the probe in the kidnapping case allegedly involving him was over.
A bench of Justices Ujjal Bhuyan and Manmohan asked the Madras high court chief justice to transfer the cases involving the ADGP to another bench as it set aside the directive of the high court asking the police to take Jayaram into custody.
"The petitioner would have his remedies to assail the order of suspension. However, given the controversial circumstances in which the impugned order came to be passed, we are of the view that the investigation of this case be handed over to CB-CID," the bench said.
The top court observed that the state's senior counsel Siddharth Dave had no objections.
"That apart, we request the Chief Justice of Madras high court to assign and other related matters to another bench. The direction of the high court to secure and take action against the petitioner is set aside. Matter stands disposed," the bench added.
Jayaram's counsel said there was nothing prior to the order of the high court and no inquiry or FIR was registered against him and therefore it was wrong on the part of the state that the suspension order was not related to the proceedings before the high court.
The bench, however, said if the suspension order was bad, it is open for the senior officer to challenge it in appropriate proceedings.
Earlier in the day the top court asked the Tamil Nadu government to tell whether it could transfer the investigation against Jayaram to the special branch or CID after the state said it wanted his suspension to continue till the investigation in the kidnapping case concluded.
Dave said Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) Jayaram's suspension did not come after the June 16 order in the kidnapping case but he faced other allegations as well.
Jayaram's suspension, he said, was within the rules, pending investigation in a criminal case against him.
The bench then mulled transferring the kidnapping case to another judge of the high court.
While Dave did not wish to comment on the high court judge dealing with the kidnapping case, he said he was only apprising the court about the other cases.
The top court on June 18 grilled the Tamil Nadu government over the suspension of Jayaram, who was directed to be arrested by the Madras high court.
The apex court was informed by the state government's counsel that the officer was taken into custody and released on Tuesday at around 5 pm but was placed under suspension.
On June 16, the high court directed the Tamil Nadu police to take Jayaram in custody in connection with a kidnapping case involving a girl and a boy on April 5.
Jayaram moved the apex court against the high court's June 16 directive asking the police to arrest him.
His lawyer has contended that the Madras high court's order was "based on a confessional statement".
Jayaram's plea filed through advocate Rajesh Singh Chauhan further contested the high court directive saying it was passed without "assigning any detailed reasons" while relying upon the purported statements of two accused persons.
The officer claimed he had not moved the high court for any relief and was directed to appear before the court on June 16 in the anticipatory bail application of an accused person.
"The high court failed to take note of the fact that it is the prerogative of the investigating officer to arrest the accused and the impugned order passed by the high court failed to take note of this critical fact and also the fact that the petitioner within a short period of notice not being more than three hours voluntarily appeared before the high court on the directions issued by the high court," the plea said.
The high court's direction overlooked the fact that he is a serving police officer in the grade of an additional director general of police (ADGP) and an IPS officer with 28 years' of experience, the plea argued.
Jayaram was detained after he came out of the court building.
Justice P Velmurugan of the high court passed the order while hearing an anticipatory bail application filed by MLA M Jagan Moorthy, who apprehended arrest in the case.
The lawmaker from Puthiya Bharatham Katchi party represents Kilvaithinankuppam (SC) constituency in the state's Vellore district.
When the matter came up for hearing on June 16, the judge summoned Moorthy and Jayaram, whose official car was allegedly used for the kidnapping, to appear before the court in the afternoon.
They both appeared in the court following which the judge noted the confessions of the accused against the ADGP and ordered his arrest.
The matter in the high court is scheduled to come up on June 26.
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