MADURAI
The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Tuesday dismissed a public interest litigation petition that sought to restrain T.K. Rajendran from discharging his duty as Director General of Police till the completion of the Lok Sabha polls.
A Division Bench of Justices N. Kirubakaran and S. S. Sundar, however, suggested that the Election Commission could take the petition as an input or reference.
The petitioner, K. Kathiresan of Madurai, said the Election Commission was duty bound to ensure fair and free election. However, the petitioner wondered whether it would be possible with Mr. Rajendran as the DGP. He said the DGP was holding the post because of the ruling AIADMK and if he continued in the post, a fair and free election might not be expected.
He said the officer “involved in the gutkha scam” should not have been appointed as the head of the police force in Tamil Nadu. Had the Chief Secretary revealed the facts of his involvement in the scam before the Union Public Service Commission’s Empanelment Committee, he would not have been appointed to the post, he claimed.
The very appointment of Mr. Rajendran as DGP went against the landmark Prakash Singh judgement delivered by the Supreme Court, he said, and sought a direction to appoint an honest and upright officer for the conduct of fair and free election in the State.