Uttarakhand: The tribunal ruled in favor of the female inspector, canceling the orders of the Almora SSP and IG.

The Nainital bench of the Uttarakhand Public Service Tribunal (Tribunal) has overturned the punishment awarded to a female sub-inspector. The Almora SSP and Kumaon Inspector General had issued a censure entry against female sub-inspector Tarannum Sayeed, finding her guilty in a departmental inquiry, which the tribunal termed as illegal and hasty.

The tribunal’s decision came in favor of the female sub-inspector

Sub-Inspector Tarannum Sayeed, in-charge of the Kashipur GRP outpost, filed a petition with the tribunal through her lawyer, Nadeemuddin. The petition stated that in 2021, she was posted at the Salt police station and was responsible for investigating a road accident case. She conducted a conscientious investigation, recording statements from the vehicle owner and witnesses, and was in the process of gathering mobile location and video evidence when the case was transferred to other officers.

The Inspector challenged the action, calling it one-sided

Later, without sufficient evidence or witnesses, the investigating officer concluded that the Inspector deliberately misdirected the investigation to ensure the vehicle owner received insurance benefits. Based on this report, the SSP, Almora, issued a censure entry against her in May 2023. Her appeal was also rejected by the IG, Kumaon. The female Inspector challenged this, stating that the action taken against her was unilateral and without evidence.

The order of the Almora SSP and IG was set aside

Captain Alok Shekhar Tiwari, the administrative member of the tribunal, accepted her arguments and stated that the punishment was hasty and based solely on suspicion. The tribunal set aside both the orders of the SSP, Almora, and the IG, directing that the censure entry be removed from Tarannum Saeed’s character register within 30 days and that all her withheld service benefits be released.