New Delhi: The Delhi High Court has upheld the sacking of former IPS officer Satish Chandra Verma from his service.

Verma, a 1986-batch Gujarat Cadre IPS officer, was dismissed from service on August 30 last year, a month before his scheduled retirement on September 30, 2022. The termination decision came after a departmental inquiry found Verma guilty of various charges, including unauthorised interaction with the media. The allegations against Verma included unauthorised media interactions on March 2 and 3, 2016, during which he spoke on matters beyond his duties’ scope.

After the Supreme Court’s order permitting him to file a plea, Verma subsequently approached the high court, contesting his termination.

The bench, composed of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva, stated that there was no reason to interfere with the inquiry authority’s findings or the disciplinary authority’s order. The court noted that Verma had not denied the unauthorised media interaction, which was not within the scope of his duties.

The court said that the interaction with the media was clearly not in the bonafide discharge of his duties as CVO, NEEPCO (Chief Vigilance Officer, North Eastern Electric Power Corporation). Additionally, Verma did not clarify that the views expressed were his own and not representative of the government,” the court stated. DeshGujarat