Team News Riveting
Raipur, September 28
Mukesh Gupta, the Indian Police Service (IPS) officer of 1988 batch from Chhattisgarh cadre, would retire as Additional Director General of Police (ADG) instead of Director General (DG) as the Chhattisgarh High Court admitted the petition of the state government contesting his promotion as police chief.
The police officer was promoted during the tenure of BJP government as DG on October 6, 2018; just a few hours before the election code of conduct came into effect. After the change of guard in December 2018, the Congress government cancelled the promotion of Mukesh Gupta while he was placed under suspension for alleged financial irregularities and other offences.
Mukesh Gupta filed a case in the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) against the order of the government. The Tribunal passed an order in his favour and stayed the notification to cancel the promotion. Terming the decision of CAT as illegal, the state government had filed a petition in the High Court. The Single Bench of the Chhattisgarh High Court ordered in favour of Mukesh Gupta and upheld the decision of CAT.
The state government appealed against the decision of the single bench in the double bench. The Division Bench of Chief Justice Arup Kumar Goswami and Justice Deepak Tiwari quashed the CAT order and termed the promotion of Mukesh Gupta against norms.
The Court upheld the decision of the state government to demote Mukesh Gupta, whose suspension was revoked by the ministry of home affairs on September 18; ahead of his retirement. Now, he would retire as ADG instead of DG on September 30.
