Supreme Court cancels AB Venkateswara Rao suspension, asks AP govt to take him to services

Andhra Pradesh senior IAS officer and former intelligence chief AB Venkateswara Rao has received a sigh of relief in the Supreme Court as it had dismissed the SLP filed by the state government and ordered to take the latter into service. The Supreme Court has made it clear that it will not interfere in the High Court orders. The court said that two years after the suspension was imposed, it was decided that the continuation would not be possible. The AP government asked for more time as there were no clear details in the report submitted by the government on Friday. But the Supreme Court rejected it stating that it ended on February 7, 2022. The court ruled that all benefits would apply to AB Venkateswara Rao from the following day.

Venkateswara Rao, a member of the 1989 AP IPS cadre, was the Chief of Intelligence during the previous government. Later, AB was accused of working in favor of Chandrababu during the 2019 elections. When the YSRCP government came to power in AP, Venkateswara Rao was transferred and was not given a posting. The government subsequently suspended AB for alleged abuse of power in the discharge of duty and allegedly violating the rules during his tenure as intelligence chief. AB Venkateswara Rao appealed to the CAT and the court to terminate the suspension.

Meanwhile, a special leave petition filed by the government on the AB suspension case was heard in the Supreme Court on Thursday where AP government was questioned on how long the suspension on Venkateswara Rao would continue in this order and reminded of the provisions that suspension should not be made for more than two years. The court also ordered him to show evidence of claims that he should not be continued after two years in connection with the suspension. However, the court dismissed the petition and directed government to taken AB Venkateswara Rao into services. It remains to be seen what decision the AP government will take on this verdict.