Satish Verma seeks high court protection against government action

In a new twist in the controversial Gosabara RDX landing case, IPS officer Satish Verma has sought protection from the Gujarat high court against any action that may be taken against him by the state government.

In a petition filed in the Gujarat high court on Monday, Verma has stated that he feared retaliatory action by the government as he had expressed doubts about the genuineness of the Ishrat Jahan encounter, besides demanding registration of a fresh FIR.

In the Gosabara case, IPS officers Satish Verma, Atul Karwal and police inspector Sukhdevsinh Zala are facing allegations that they let off a key accused, Sattar Maulana, when they were posted in Porbandar at different times in 1993.

Part of the RDX consignment that landed at Gosarara (in Porbandar) was later used in the Mumbai serial blasts. On April 28 this year, a bench of the Gujarat high court comprising chief justice SJ Mukhopadhya and justice JB Pardiwala had asked the state government to act on a report prepared on the role of Verma, Karwal and Zala.

The report was prepared by additional director general of police (administration) Pramod Kumar.

The government had entrusted the task of preparing a report to ADGP Pramod Kumar after Yatin Oza, senior counsel in the high court, filed a PIL seeking action against Verma, Karwal and Zala for allegedly acting against national security.

It may be recalled that Pramod Kumar was the head of the first special investigation team (SIT) that was set up by the Gujarat high court to investigate the Ishrat Jahan encounter case.

The other members of the first Ishrat SIT were IPS officers Mohan Jha and JK Bhatt. However, the first Ishrat SIT was later dissolved after the Supreme Court asked the Gujarat high court to look afresh into the petitions regarding the Ishrat Jahan encounter.

On Wednesday, Verma filed his petition in the high court through his lawyer SK Patel. The petition is likely to come up for hearing in a couple of days.

In his petition, Verma has sought a review of the high court order that directed the state government to take action on the basis of the report filed by ADGP Pramod Kumar in the Gosabara case.

He has said that he apprehended the HC order would be misused by the state government as forces within the government had already tried to thwart investigation in the Ishrat case after he doubted the genuineness of the encounter.

Verma has further stated that two DGPs, KV Joseph and CP Singh, besides justice (retired) SD Dave commission, had held that he could not be held guilty of any misconduct in the case.

Further, the government had not taken any decision within the statutory six months after the Dave commission concluded the enquiry and submitted its report.

Why did the government, on May 5 last year, entrust ADGP Pramod Kumar with the task of preparing a report on enquiries that were done by his superior officers?

Verma has also accused the state government of changing its stand on the issue. He said that when Yatin Oza filed a petition before the high court in 2005 and, subsequently, filed an appeal in the Supreme Court, the state government had taken a clear stand that Oza's petition was not of public interest but of personal vengeance. Now the government has changed its stand, Verma states in his petition.

Further, the state government had issued him vigilance clearance when he was posted as Chief Vigilance Officer in Central Public Sector Undertakings and the government had stated that there was no enquiry pending against him.

Verma has further alleged that Oza was acting against him out of a desire fore revenge as he had used force against him in 1998.

It is pertinent to note that police had allegedly thrashed Oza, who was the sitting MLA at the time, in the Sabarmati area during assembly elections.