Home Deptt justifies security cover to Kewal Sharma

Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Aug 3: Division Bench of the State High Court comprising Justice Dhiraj Singh Thakur and Justice Sanjay Kumar Gupta has granted four weeks time to Advocate Sheikh Shakeel Ahmed appearing for the PIL titled Sheikh Mohd. Shafi & Anr V/s Union of India & Ors for filing his response to the reply filed by Home Department in a Miscellaneous Application seeking disciplinary proceedings against two IPS officers of J&K Cadre namely Atul Goel and Anand Jain, the then SSPs for misusing/abusing their official position by providing undue security cover to Kewal Kumar Sharma, Forest Guard turned Additional PRO.
In the reply filed by the Home Department, it is submitted that due to threat perception the then SSP Jammu provided the security to the then PRO to DyCM but at present no guard/PSO is provided to Kewal Kumar Sharma.
The reply filed by Home Department further says that DGP in his report dated April 26, 2018 has further informed that the security cover provided by the police officers to Kewal Kumar Sharma was provisionally based on circumstances that emerged at that time which infact was withdrawn later on.
The reply further says that the Home Department in view of the report of DGP has decided that disciplinary proceedings against the concerned officers are not warranted or made out.
Advocate Sheikh Shakeel Ahmed appearing for the petitioners submitted that the Home Department has filed a misleading reply just to the shield the delinquent IPS officers as earlier in a writ petition the Home Department on affidavit admitted that the security had been provided to Kewal Kumar Sharma against the Standard Operating Procedure and without getting the threat perception examined from the security headquarters.
After considering the submissions of Advocate Ahmed whereas Senior AAG S.S. Nanda and Senior AAG Seema Khajooria Shekhar appearing for the State Government, the Division Bench granted four week’s time to Advocate Ahmed to file response to the reply filed by the Home Department.
The Division Bench also disposed of the application filed by Senior AAG Seema Khajooria Shekhar seeking recalling of order dated July 3, 2018 and the Court also impleaded Ram Pal Sharma, the then MD J&K Housing Board as respondent in the instant PIL.