K.K. Sasidharan, V. Parthiban, JJ.

Introductory

This is the case of a senior Police Officer of Indian Police Service in the rank of Additional Director General of Police, in charge of Intelligence under the previous Government, who was placed under suspension, immediately on assumption of office by the new government in 2011 and the victim of prolonged suspension for the last 5 years and 5 months, pending disposal of criminal cases (initiated on allegation of helping his subordinates to acquire housing plots under discretionary quota by creating records and thereby causing loss to the Tamil Nadu Housing Board, besides taking allotment under the discretionary quota in the name of his wife and entering into a joint venture with a builder) without there being an allegation of tampering with evidence or influencing the process of enquiry or investigation and in spite of the remote chance of commencing the criminal proceedings in the near future, on account of the orders passed by the Central Government, declining sanction for prosecution and the pendency of related writ petitions filed by the State Government challenging the correctness of those orders, besides the writ proceedings challenging the issuance of summons by the criminal court taking cognizance without obtaining mandatory sanction for prosecution and the stay granted by the High Court restraining the Trial Court from proceeding further.

Backdrop :-

2. The State of Tamil Nadu without challenging the order passed by the Central Administrative Tribunal (hereinafter referred to as "the Tribunal"), directing revocation of suspension and reinstatement of Thiru. Jaffer Sait, I.P.S., Additional Director General of Police, filed clarification petitions with an innocuous prayer before the Tribunal to clarify the final order dated 19 April 2016 and pending disposal of the petitions, to stay the revocation of suspension and reinstatement and after obtaining stay of operation of the final order, extended the period of suspension and after the dismissal of the clarification petitions, took a "U turn" and filed Writ Petitions in W.P.No.175 and 176 of 2017, challenging the order directing reinstatement after revoking suspension.

3. The suspended police officer filed Writ Petitions in W.P.Nos.48 and 49 of 2017 challenging the order in the clarification petitions on account of the failure on the part of the Tribunal to set aside the order extending suspension made by taking advantage of the interim stay of operation of the final order, directing his reinstatement.

4. Since there are four Writ Petitions, two by the State and another two by the delinquent, for the sake of convenience, the employee is hereinafter referred to as "the petitioner" and the petitioner in W.P.Nos.175 and 176 of 2016 is referred to as State.

Summary of facts:-

5. The petitioner is a 1986 batch Police Officer of Indian Police Service, allotted to the State of Tamil Nadu. The petitioner held the position of Inspector General of Police (Intelligence) and Additional Director General of Police (Intelligence) between the period 2007-2011.

6. The then opposition political party, immediately after coming into power in the State in 2011, initiated departmental proceedings and criminal action against the petitioner on allegation that he misused his official position and acquired house plots under the Government discretionary quota, in the name of his wife and daughter, misused his official position and thereby acquired pecuniary benefits, besides helped two of his subordinates to obtain housing plots out of Government quota by fabrication of records.

7. The Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Department, registered a case against the petitioner on 23 July 2011. Thereafter, the petitioner was suspended from service with effect from 1 August 2011, with headquarters at Mandapam, near Rameshwaram, which is about 650 kms., away from his family house at Chennai.

8. The Directorate of Vigilance and Anti Corruption laid a charge sheet in t