IPS officer alleges malice by Guj govt before CAT

Sharma had approached CAT early this month challenging Gujarat government's chargesheet of August 13, alleging him of misconduct under Sec 3(1) of All India Service Rules 1969.

He is accused of not submitting original CDs containing mobile phone call records related to 2002 communal riots period to the respective investigating officers of riot cases or to his supervisory officers.

The original CDs are presently not traceable, and only copies of it are available.

Sharma has made the Chief Minister Narendra Modi as one of the respondents in his petition, besides the Chief Secretary and Additional Chief Secretary, Home, Varesh Sinha. Shrama's counsel Mukul Sinha today contended before the Tribunal Bench of Mukesh Gupta and Ashok Kumar that state had acted with malice and distorted facts to chargesheet his client with regard to the phone call CDs.

Sinha contended that there was a delay of nine years in the action by the state government as it had issued show cause notice in the matter to Sharma for the first time only in February this year.

There was no misconduct on the part of Sharma as alleged in the state government chargesheet which accused him of taking away, and not submitting back, the phone call records CDs which should have been part of the official records, Sinha submitted before the CAT.

He further said that Sharma was also being targeted because he deposed before the Supreme Court amicus curie in the riots cases, Raju Ramchandran on being summoned.

The Tribunal bench asked Sinha to submit the document that could prove that Sharma was summoned by Ramchandran, for which he sought time. The CAT granted Sinha time till September 22 to submit the documents and scheduled the next hearing on the same day.

Sharma, was serving as Deputy Commissioner of Police (Control), Ahmedabad during March 24, 2002 to July 3, 2002. Sharma at that time had assisted the city crime branch in the investigations of riots cases and had prepared a CD of mobile phone call records of ministers, politicians, police officers and bureaucrats between February 29, 2002 to March 2, 2002 by obtaining mobile call records from Mobile service provider companies.

In his petition, Sharma while challenging chargesheet against him, has said that he had sent the CDs in question through a police messenger of the crime branch to the then chief of crime branch P P Pandey.