V SENTHILKUMAR Vs. SUPERINTENDENT OF POLICE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The challenge in this intra-Court appeal is to the order of the learned Single Judge dated 22.07.2016 made in W.P.No.25570 of 2016, in and by which, the learned Single Judge dismissed the Writ Petition filed by the appellant seeking to defer all further proceedings relating to the charge memo dated 11.01.2016 pending criminal proceedings in Crime No.541 of 2015 on the file of the Veerapandi Police Station, Tiruppur.

(2.) The appellant who was working as a Head Constable in the Economic Offences Wing at Coimbatore District was arrested and remanded to judicial custody for his involvement in the theft of articles worth about Rs. 60,84,700/- from a sealed godown kept under the custody of the Special Court constituted under the Tamil Nadu Protection of Interest of Depositors Act. Since the appellant was arrested in relation to a crime, the Superintendent of Police, Coimbatore District placed him under suspension on 011.2015. It is stated that the criminal case is under investigation.

(3.) While so, the respondents issued a charge memo to the appellant on 11.01.2016 for the charge relating to theft of the goods from the godown which is also the subject matter of the criminal proceedings. The appellant had submitted his explanation and the Additional Superintendent of Police, Economic Offences Wing has been appointed as Enquiry Officer to conduct the enquiry based on the charge memo dated 11.01.2016. The appellant had made a representation to the enquiry officer on 19.02.2016 requiring him to keep disciplinary proceedings in abeyance inasmuch as the charges in both the criminal case as well as the disciplinary proceedings were one and the same and his interest will be jeopardized if he is to disclose his defence in the departmental enquiry.