New Delhi: Handing over a veiled victory to the state government that has been at odds with the former Director General of Police (DGP) T. P. Senkumar, the center has stalled the appointment of the officer to the central administrative tribunal (CAT), Manorama News reported.
The copy of the letter sent by the center in this regard has been procured by the News channel, reports said.
According to the letter, the officer, who is facing multiple criminal cases, should first be cleared of the charges before he is appointed to the top job.
The other name in the list forwarded from the state, that of officer V. Somasundaran, has been approved.
Senkumar is facing charges of forgery and embezzlement of funds, creating religious tensions and approving undue credit while he was appointed as the chairman of KTDFC.
The plea submitted by Senkumar challenging the cases charged on him is pending in the High Court.
The tough stance taken by Senkumar in the investigation of the T. P. Chandrasekharan murder case had irked the Kannur lobby of the CPM.
Senkumar lost his DGP post as soon as the left government ascended to power.
The officer did not give up, but took the case to the Supreme Court and won his office back till he retired in June.
Elaborate procedure
The CAT appointments happen after an elaborate procedure that sees several rounds of approvals and vetting.
The first list of probable names is prepared by a panel comprising High Court chief justice. The list then goes to the governor through the government.
The list then passes through additional approvals at the PMO, which then escalates it for Presidential assent.
In the case of Senkumar, when the file reached the government for approval, the then chief secretary Nalini Netto's office delayed the approval process by six months and later passed it on noting the disapproval of the LDF government to the proposed appointment.
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