TN Police : Transfer of DGP has impacted morale of police force:Govt to HC

Chennai, Mar 29 (PTI) Tamil Nadu government today told the Madras High Court that the Election Commission�s order shifting DGP Letika Saran ahead of the April 13 Assembly polls has had an impact on the morale of the police force in the state and maintained such directives could have been passed in consultation with the state administration. This was stated in an affidavit filed by Advocate General P S Raman on behalf of Chief Secretary S Malathi before a bench comprising Chief Justice M.Y.Eqbal and Justice T S Sivagnanam. The bench, which had yesterday closed a petition taken up suo motu by another bench on Chief Minister M Karunanidhi's statement that EC had imposed 'excessive restrictions, has said the question of whether the transfer of state officials would amount to casting a stigma on their credentials would be treated as a separate petition. The EC had last week ordered transfer of several top police and district officials, a move that has been slammed by Karunanidhi as 'unilateral'. The AG submitted while EC undoubtedly had powers over all officials placed at its disposal, any order being passed unilaterally and without putting the officer on prior notice, should not be construed as attributing any bias on such officer. Nor should such a transfer order be a reflection on the integrity or efficiency of such officer, he added. The state government, with utmost respect, wishes to place this point for the consideration of the court only because in the instant case such transfers had been effected starting with none else than the head of police force -- DGP (Law and Order). The DGP, with a view to avoiding any friction between the government and EC, "graciously" offered to go on leave. �This has had considerable impact on the morale of the police force and such orders of EC could have been passed after a consultative process with state Government," it said. The government told the court that EC's "unilateral" order based on their �perception� about the individual officers should never form part of the service record of the officer nor should it be, in any manner, a disqualification from future service of such officers in the conduct of elections.� The affidavit also contended that in the absence of such a consultative process, EC's order "may be self-defeating.� It pointed to the case of IPS officer Asra Garg, who has been posted as Superintendent of Police of Madurai which is a huge and sensitive district even as per the EC. The officer had recently not been keeping good health following some spinal cord problem and brain calcification. He had therefore been given "non-sensitive and non-taxing posting outside the district administration", the affidavit said. These situations could have been easily avoided had EC adopted a consultative process rather than resorting to "unilateral orders", it said.