CAT revokes suspension of senior IPS officer

CHENNAI: The Central Administrative Tribunal ( CAT) today revoked the nearly four-and-a-half year suspension of senior IPS officer M S Jaffer Sait by the Tamil Nadu government.

He was suspended in August 2011 after the Directorate of Vigilance and Corruption ( DVAC) registered a case against him on a complaint from Tamil Nadu Housing Board (TNHB) that he allegedly entered into a criminal conspiracy with others and got land allotted from the Board suppressing certain details.

The TNHB also alleged that Sait had entered into an agreement with a private construction company and defrauded the Board.

Revoking the suspension, the CAT's Chennai bench comprising Justice A Arumugasamy and Administrative member R Ramanujam also ordered the government to reinstate him.

The Bench observed that no sanction was granted for prosecuting the officer on the FIR filed against him.

Following raids by the DVAC on his premises, the IPS officer was transferred as Special Officer to Mandapam Refugee Camp near Rameswaram.

Sait had moved the CAT in September 2015, against continuous extension of his suspension and contended that there was "no public interest served" in extending his suspension.

In the petition, Sait submitted that he was known for his integrity and honesty and had served in different police ranks.

Sait, who was the former state Intelligence Chief, had contended that the government was "selectively discriminating" against him by extending his suspension.

Sait contended that he was being "singled out" and discriminated for "no fault of his".

He said he had served in different ranks between 1988 and 2011 and put in "unblemished service", earning meritorious awards both from Union and state governments.