The Bombay High Court ordered the Union government to submit its response to a petition from IPS officer Abdur Rehman, chosen by Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) as candidate for Dhule Lok Sabha seat. Dhule will vote on May 20, along with Mumbai and other districts in Maharashtra.
Meanwhile, the Maharashtra government opposed Rehman’s request for the prompt decision on his Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS) application.
Rehman resigned as Inspector General of the State Human Rights Commission in 2019 due to his disagreement with the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) passed by the Rajya Sabha. However, his resignation and previous VRS requests were rejected.
Rehman challenged the rejection of his retirement request by the Union and state home ministries in October 2019. Initially, he requested retirement in 2017, withdrew it, then applied again in March 2018. His second request in 2018 was denied due to pending disciplinary actions, which were resolved in January 2019. His third request in October 2019 was also rejected by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs, prompting him to appeal to the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT). After the tribunal dismissed his appeal in December last year, he approached the High Court.
The Union government’s counsel, Ravi Shetty, informed the bench that they need time to file an affidavit with additional details regarding certain disciplinary proceedings against Rehman. Shetty requested two weeks to file the affidavit. Rehman’s advocate objected, stating that there were no charges against him when he applied for VRS, so his request should not have been rejected.
Shetty mentioned that although Rehman was cleared of a previous inquiry, the government received a new complaint alleging that he got married again while still married to his first wife. The complaint was filed by Rehman’s father-in-law. Despite the complaint being withdrawn later, the government learned about the second marriage, which could lead to dismissal from service. The bench granted the Union government two weeks to file its affidavit and scheduled the next hearing for April 18.
