New Delhi: Delhi Police head constable Abdul Nazir Kunju has finally been granted relief after emerging victorious in a legal tussle against his own department spanning 26 long years, starting from 1995.
Kunju had been given a promotion for his courage and outstanding work in the aftermath of the 1995 sensational case in Delhi where a Youth Congress leader had killed his wife and tried to conceal the evidence. The sensational case later came to be widely known as the ‘tandoor case‘. Although Kunju had been promoted, the benefits that came with his seniority had been denied to him by his department, which he challenged in courts one after the other all the way up to the Supreme Court.
On Saturday, March 6, the Supreme Court in its ruling directed the Delhi Police to give him all benefits as per his seniority from the time of his promotion and accordingly settle his arrears from 1995. Kunju now lives in Kerala, after he moved out of Delhi in 2012 after opting for voluntary retirement from the service.
Although he says he is disappointed with his department’s approach, he is satisfied with the top court’s verdict, Kunju has been quoted as saying by the Indian Express.
Chronology
On July 2, 1995, Kunju was posted at Connaught Place police station in Delhi and was on night duty. He was patrolling with his home guard Chander Pal. When the policemen reached the side lane of Ashok Yatri Niwas on Ashoka Road around 11.25 pm, they heard locals screaming that there was a fire in the hotel nearby.
They saw smoke and flames emanating from Bagiya Barbeque restaurant, which prompted Kunju to alert his higher-ups on his wireless immediately. When he entered the restaurant, he found co-accused Keshav Kumar near the tandoor, putting pieces of wood inside.
Kumar told Kunju he was a Congress worker and was burning some old posters. The prime accused Sushil Kumar Sharma, a Youth Congress leader, who was standing at the restaurant gate also claimed that banners were being burnt.
However, Kunju felt something was not right and checked the tandoor. To his dismay, he found a body in embers.
As a key witness, Kunju’s testimony proved crucial in the conviction of Sharma, for killing his wife, Naina Sahni. Kunju was hailed for his ‘outstanding work’ by his department and was promised promotion. However, years passed by, but he hadn’t received the benefits and pay that should have normally come with his seniority.
He was promoted as head constable, but his salary was raised by only Rs 5 even after the Fifth Pay Commission came into effect in 1998, and he was drawing a salary lesser than his juniors. The benefits that should have come with his elevation too were never given to him.
Kunju impressed upon his seniors in the department to look into the matter but was to no avail. Their assurances of resolving his issue never materialised. Frustrated, he moved the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) in 2006 for justice and secured an order directing the Delhi Police to provide benefits commensurate with his rank in 2011.
However, the Delhi Police challenged the CAT’s verdict in Delhi high court in 2012. In 2013, the high court too ruled in favour of Kunju. Even then, the Delhi Police was not to relent as it persisted and challenged the matter in the Supreme Court. Finally, after years, the apex court ruled in favour of Kunju on March 6, 2021.
Kunju recounts that although he was even offered Rs 10 lakh to change his testimony against the accused Sharma and a number of death threats, he did not budge and showed courage. He says he was distraught and opted for voluntary retirement in 2012 when he learnt that his department had moved Delhi high court against him.
Sharma was sentenced to death and was later commuted to life imprisonment. He was released in December 2018 after serving his term.