Kancheepuram ex-district judge suspended for ordering arrest of DSP

CHENNAI: Judge Pa U Chemmal, who ordered the arrest of the Kancheepuram DSP when he was the district judge there, was suspended from service by the Madras High Court’s Disciplinary Committee. The order was issued by the Registrar General of the court.

Chemmal, the then district judge of Kancheepuram, had ordered the arrest of DSP M Shankar Ganesh for allegedly failing to take action in a case filed against a policeman under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

However, the police department filed a case stating that the arrest order was issued due to a personal dispute between the district judge and Lokeswaran, who had served as the judge’s security officer, and not based on legal grounds.

The case stems from a dispute between Lokeswaran and his father-in-law, a bakery owner. The police claimed that the judge took suo motu cognisance of a minor complaint and pressured the police to register an FIR against Lokeswaran under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and even issued an externment order against him.

The High Court quashed the order directing the imprisonment of the DSP and also directed Registrar (Vigilance) to conduct an inquiry. Chemmal had filed an appeal before the Supreme Court, but the petition was dismissed. He was transferred as the chairman of the permanent Lok Adalat in Ariyalur.

The vigilance report was forwarded to the High Court Administrative Committee and the Judges’ Transfer Committee for taking appropriate departmental action. After completing the proceedings, the Disciplinary Committee suspended Judge Semmal.