The resignation comes hours after they gave an undertaking to the Supreme Court that they would do so, when the SC questioned the Gujarat government on their reappointment.
Gujarat policemen NK Amin and TA Barot, accused in a number of alleged fake encounter cases including the Ishrat Jahan case, resigned on Thursday "to save the state government from embarrassment" in the wake of a petition challenging their re-induction on the grounds that they had a "questionable track record".
The resignation comes hours after they gave an undertaking to the Supreme Court that they would do so, when the SC questioned the Gujarat government on their reappointment.
The two officers were re-inducted into service after retirement. Amin, who retired as Superintendent of Police last August, had been re-appointed as SP of Mahisagar district in Gujarat on contractual basis for one year. Barot was superannuated in 2014 while he was in jail. He was released in June 2015 and reappointed in October 2016 as DySP with Western Railway at Vadodara for one year.
Amin faced trial in the Sohrabuddin Sheikh and Ishrat Jahan 'fake encounter' cases, and was discharged in the Sohrabuddin case last year by a special CBI court in Mumbai. Barot, accused in the Ishrat Jahan and the Sadiq Jamal encounter cases, still faces charges.
"We have decided to step down to save the government from any embarrassment. Apart from police service, there are many other ways to serve the people. I thank the people of Tapi district and of Gujarat for their love and support," Amin said.
Barot said he was left with no option but to resign. "What else was I supposed to do after the Supreme Court asked us to step down? I have sent my resignation today to the state government," he said on Thursday.
After the officers offered to resign, the bench disposed of the plea filed by former IPS officer Rahul Sharma challenging the Gujarat High Court's decision dismissing his earlier plea against the re-induction of the two officers.
Sharma said they were forced to resign due to the strict stand taken by the court.
Sharma, through advocate Varinder Kumar Sharma, had referred to the apex court's order allowing the Gujarat government to accept the offer of state's top cop PP Pandey to relinquish posts of director general and inspector general of police.
Sharma further alleged that the Central Bureau of Investigation had charge-sheeted Amin in two encounter cases and had already spent "close to eight years in judicial custody". Amin was immediately re-instated as SP shortly after he was released.
"Moreover, Tarun Barot is also a charge-sheeted accused in two different cases of abduction and murder of various persons. He too was arrested in the aforementioned cases and spent close to three years in judicial custody," the plea read.
Gujarat preferred to re-appoint Barot immediately after his release as DySP, (Headquarters), Western Railways at Vadodara, the plea said.
Sharma said the appointments were made despite "the questionable track record of the two officers". These appointments, he alleged, violated SC guidelines as well as "the doctrine of public trust", the plea said.
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