Apex court issues stay on non-bailable warrant

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court Thursday stayed the Karnataka high court order issuing non-bailable warrant (NBW) against the state police chief Praveen Sood for non-compliance of an order related to transfer of a Deputy Superintendent of Police.

The high court on February 18 issued the arrest warrant against the 1986-cadre IPS officer, appointed recently as the Director General and Inspector General of Police (DG&IGP), after he failed to file response to the plea filed by DYSP S S Kashi.

Kashi, who has allegedly been transferred 30 times in his 24-year-long career, had moved the high court against the Karnataka State Administrative Tribunal order holding his recent transfer to be valid.

The high court was irked over the fact that neither the DGP’S office filed a reply on February 18 nor the police chief appeared during the day as directed by it. It issued the NBW against the DGP and the arrest was to be effected by the Home Secretary to secure his presence on February 25.

The Karnataka police chief on Thursday mentioned his plea for an urgent hearing against the HC order before a bench headed by Chief Justice S A Bobde.

The bench, also comprising Justices B R Gavai and Surya Kant, was told by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta that an “unsual order” has been passed by the high court against the top police officer of the state and it needed to be stayed urgently.

The court took up the appeal of the DGP after finishing day’s work and stayed the operation of the high court order.