Raipur: Senior Indian Police Service (IPS) officer Gyanendra Pratap Singh of Chhattisgarh on Thursday got yet another relief from the High Court of Chhattisgarh after the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) had granted him relief.
The double bench of the High Court has stayed the FIR registered against him in Supela police station. GP Singh had filed a petition in the High Court to quash the FIR. The next hearing is scheduled on July 8, 2024.
The legal sources said that in the year 2015, Durg resident Kamal Sen had a dispute with builder Singhania regarding business transactions. During this, Singhania told Sen to call IPS GP Singh, but there was no conversation on the phone.
Six years after the incident, in 2021, Kamal Sen lodged an FIR in Supela police station saying that GP Singh had threatened him demanding Rs 20 lakh. On the application of Kamal Sen, a crime of blackmail was registered against GP Singh in Supela police station of Bhilai.
After which IPS Singh filed a petition in the High Court to quash the FIR. Legal sources said the case was heard in the Double Bench of Chief Justice Ramesh Sinha and Justice Rajni Dubey. The court accepted that the complainant lodged a police report after 6 years, which is a long period after the alleged incident had occurred. The court stated that to register a criminal case against a public servant, permission has to be taken under Section 197, which was not done. The High Court stayed the FIR stating that no criminal proceedings will be taken till the next hearing. The next date for the next hearing was fixed on July 8.
On April 29, Senior Indian Police Service (IPS) officer G P Singh had received a big relief from the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT). The tribunal has ordered that all the cases related to GP Singh be resolved and he be reinstated within four weeks.
Singh is a 1994-batch IPS officer of Chhattisgarh cadre.
Under the earlier Congress government, he was booked under several cases, including sedition, after the ACB raided his house in July 2021. EOW and ACB conducted the three days raids, including his residence along with 15 different locations. They claimed to have recovered dozens of plots, vehicles, and insurance papers, investments in industries, cash and gold. After which the police claimed to have recovered dairy and a few shredded pages to file a sedition case against him.
In January 2022, GP Singh was arrested from Delhi. He got bail after being in jail for about 4 months. On the recommendation of the state government, the Union Home Ministry gave him compulsory retirement in July 2023.
