The Supreme Court on Thursday said that there was a “disturbing trend” in the country of police officers siding with the political party in power, PTI reported.
“Then when a new party comes into power, the government initiates action against those officials,” Chief Justice of India NV Ramana said, according to Live Law. “This is a new trend which needs to be stopped.”
The court was hearing suspended IPS officer Gurjinder Pal Singh’s petition for protection in a sedition case registered against him by the police in Chhattisgarh. The Congress is in power in the state.
In July, Chhattisgarh’s Anti Corruption Bureau and Economic Offences Wing had raided premises linked to Singh. They claimed to have discovered documents showing Singh’s alleged involvement in a conspiracy against the government and public representatives.
The officials had also claimed that they found assets worth around Rs 10 crore during the raids. Singh was accused of acquiring them through benami or proxy transactions.
Singh had accused the Congress government in Chhattisgarh of targeting him because he was believed to have close ties with the previous Bharatiya Janata Party administration, NDTV reported.
The suspended police officer had urged the Chhattisgarh High Court to quash the first information report against him, but the court refused do so in July. After this, Singh approached the Supreme Court.
On Thursday, the Supreme Court bench comprising Ramana and Justice Surya Kant granted Singh protection from arrest for four weeks. They also sought a response from the Chhattisgarh government.
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