TP Senkumar took charge as the Kerala Police chief, a position from which he was ousted by the CPI(M)-led lDF Government over 11 months ago, on Saturday afternoon after receiving the order of reinstatement which the Government was forced to issue following an ultimatum from the Supreme Court.
However, the question being discussed in Kerala’s political circles is whether sincere cooperation is possible between Senkumar, who had caused serious setbacks to the Government through his successful legal battle for reinstatement, and the Home Ministry headed by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, who faces the charge of trying to keep him away from the post.
Though the Marxist Chief Minister had signed the order reinstating Senkumar as DGP (law and Order) on Friday night following the Supreme Court’s ultimatum, it was issued only by Saturday noon. Senkumar received the order in the afternoon at the Institute of Management in Government where he was Director General.
“There will be no comments from my side on the legal affairs (connected to the reinstatement),” said Senkumar after taking charge. “I don’t expect any confrontation between the police chief and the Government. As police chief, my efforts will be to improve performance. Naturally, the Government also will be doing the same. So there is no room for confrontation,” he said.
“As the police chief is the head of an important department under the Government, my priority will be to do good things for the Government and the State,” Senkumar said.
“I want to do more care for ensuring women’s safety. Another objective is to bring down accidents. I will also give emphasis to enhancing security by giving considering technology as a crucial factor,” he added.
The Chief Minister made it clear that Senkumar was being reinstated as per the Supreme Court’s order. “The Supreme Court’s stand is final. The Government needed some clarifications on its verdict and that is why it approached the court again. However, it took a position that there was no room for such doubts,” Pinarayi said in Alappuzha on Saturday.
The Supreme Court, which considered Senkumar’s petition seeking reinstatement, had on April 24 ordered that he had to be taken back as DGP. As the Government delayed the reinstatement without any valid reason, Senkumar filed a contempt petition against the Chief Secretary. The Government also filed a plea seeking clarification on the court’s April 24 order.
On Friday, the court rejected the Government’s prayer for clarification and imposed on it a fine of Rs 25,000 as court expense and warned that it knew the course of action to be pursued if the order was not implemented. Following this ultimatum, the Chief Minister signed the order reinstating the IPS official.
Senkumar was removed as State DGP (law and Order) on May 31, 2016, a week after the lDF came to power. The ground for his removal was the alleged lapses on the part of the police under him in the sensational cases of the Jisha rape-murder and the fireworks tragedy at Puttingal Devi temple in Kollam on April 10, 2016 in which 110 people were killed.
Instead of silently accepting his ouster, Senkumar approached the Central Administrative Tribunal with a petition against the Government move but he failed to get a favourable verdict from there. The Kerala High Court, where he filed a petition seeking reinstatement, also ruled in favour of the Government. It was after this that he had approached the Supreme Court.