HYDERABAD: The Election Commission of India on Tuesday revoked the suspension of former DGP Anjani Kumar, 10 days after suspending him for saluting CM-designate A Revanth Reddy barely a couple of hours after the assembly election counting process had started.
The EC said Kumar will not be associated with poll-related assignments in future.
The EC revocationorder said: “Kumar has acknowledged his actions as a mistake, offered an unconditional apology and gave a voluntary undertaking not to repeat such misconduct.We have accepted the recommendation of the state government to revoke his suspension.” Kumar is an IPS officer of the 1990 batch.
The poll body added, “The state government has been instructed to issue a warning to Kumar about not repeating such unbecoming conduct of a public servant. Any violation of the conduct rules by the officer would be viewed most seriously.”
No election work for Anjani, EC tells state
The state government will also ensure that Anjani Kumar is not associated with any election work,” the EC order said.
Kumar was suspended for meeting Revanth Reddy, a Congress candidate, at his Jubilee Hills residence on December 3 when counting of assembly election votes was underway. Photographs of Kumar saluting Revanth and shaking hands with him had gone viral on social media and raised questions about model code violations. He was accompanied by ADG Sanjay Jain and ADG (law and order) Mahesh Bhagwat.
“Kumar accepted the main charge of alleged misconduct. He admitted it was a mistake, denied the allegations of ‘mala fide or gaining favour’ and termed it an ‘inadvertent error’ in his judgment. He tendered an unconditional apology. He has given a suo motu undertaking to be more careful in future and sought revocation of his suspension by exonerating him,” the EC said in its orders.
On December 8, the state government had recommended the revocation of Kumar’s suspension, a source said.
In its suspension order on December 3, the EC had said: “The DGP is the head of the police force and expected to lead the entire police force of Telangana by setting an example through his personal impartial conduct.” The EC suspension order had emphasised that Kumar’s act of meeting a contesting candidate during the counting process was a clear violation of the model code of conduct and relevant conduct rules. After Kumar was suspended, senior IPS officer Ravi Gupta was given the additional charge of HoPF. Kumar took over as DGP of Telangana in December 2022, succeeding senior IPS officer M Mahender Reddy.
The EC said Kumar will not be associated with poll-related assignments in future.
The EC revocationorder said: “Kumar has acknowledged his actions as a mistake, offered an unconditional apology and gave a voluntary undertaking not to repeat such misconduct.We have accepted the recommendation of the state government to revoke his suspension.” Kumar is an IPS officer of the 1990 batch.
The poll body added, “The state government has been instructed to issue a warning to Kumar about not repeating such unbecoming conduct of a public servant. Any violation of the conduct rules by the officer would be viewed most seriously.”
No election work for Anjani, EC tells state
The state government will also ensure that Anjani Kumar is not associated with any election work,” the EC order said.
Kumar was suspended for meeting Revanth Reddy, a Congress candidate, at his Jubilee Hills residence on December 3 when counting of assembly election votes was underway. Photographs of Kumar saluting Revanth and shaking hands with him had gone viral on social media and raised questions about model code violations. He was accompanied by ADG Sanjay Jain and ADG (law and order) Mahesh Bhagwat.
“Kumar accepted the main charge of alleged misconduct. He admitted it was a mistake, denied the allegations of ‘mala fide or gaining favour’ and termed it an ‘inadvertent error’ in his judgment. He tendered an unconditional apology. He has given a suo motu undertaking to be more careful in future and sought revocation of his suspension by exonerating him,” the EC said in its orders.
On December 8, the state government had recommended the revocation of Kumar’s suspension, a source said.
In its suspension order on December 3, the EC had said: “The DGP is the head of the police force and expected to lead the entire police force of Telangana by setting an example through his personal impartial conduct.” The EC suspension order had emphasised that Kumar’s act of meeting a contesting candidate during the counting process was a clear violation of the model code of conduct and relevant conduct rules. After Kumar was suspended, senior IPS officer Ravi Gupta was given the additional charge of HoPF. Kumar took over as DGP of Telangana in December 2022, succeeding senior IPS officer M Mahender Reddy.