Justice for ABV
••He waged the legal battle for four years
••Case assumed significance
Patibandla Srinivas
Amaravati: Director General of Police (DG) cadre senior IPS officer AB Venkateswara Rao’s suspension drama is all set to create a new record in the history of the Indian Police Service and officers of the All India Services. He is waiting for justice before his retirement just two days away which is fixed on May 31.
He was suspended for the first time in February 2020. Since then he started fighting against the State government for the last four years plus. As per the rules of the Supreme Court of India, the IPS officer should not be in a suspension period for more than two years.
The highest judicial authorities like the High Court, the Supreme Court, and the CAT have given judgments against the suspension orders of the police officer but he could not get the police uniform during the four years except for a few days when the suspension orders were revoked following the orders of the High Court. Then the State government gave post for a few days and again suspended him for the second time.
The High Court had not accepted the suspension orders later the Supreme Court also cleared the case not allowing the suspension for more than two years. Finally, the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) revoked the suspension orders 20 days ago.
So far, the State government failed to prove allegations of his involvement in the purchase of security equipment. The police officer also always says with the media there is no evidence against him or money involved in the case.
But the State government did not give a post though the CAT pronounced its verdict almost 20 days ago. The State government again approached the High Court instead of honoring the CAT’s verdict. The High Court completed the hearing and reserved the decision. Now everyone is waiting including the senior IPS officers for the High Court’s decision. Previously he clarified that the State government did not buy Pegasus or any software during the period of his tenure. He said when the State government never purchased such software in the first place there was no question of his family members’ involvement in corruption. He stalled the plans of somebody to destroy the State. It is an open secret that his suspension led to political controversy.
As a result, he faced all the situations, he once said.
The officer’s native is a Katrenipadu village near Nuzvid town in Krishna district and ‘living in his village and Hyderabad for the last four years without a job depending on cultivation. The IPS officer’s parents are teachers and he is a person who gives preference for friendship and literature. Since then his case has assumed more significance across the globe based on all the reasons.
