Munish Sood
Kullu
The Himachal Pradesh government on Wednesday transferred Kullu Deputy Commissioner Anurag Chander Sharma and Superintendent of Police Madan Kaushal after the Supreme Court refused to stay the Himachal Pradesh High Court’s direction ordering their transfer over alleged administrative lapses in connection with the controversial Kasol rave party held in June.
The state government had challenged the High Court’s order before the Supreme Court, seeking relief against both the transfer of the officers and the direction to initiate criminal proceedings against them. While the apex court stayed the High Court’s order directing registration of criminal cases against the officers, it declined to interfere with the transfer directions, compelling the government to implement the order.
According to a notification issued by the Home Department, IPS officer Abhishek S. (2019 batch), who was serving as SP (Law and Order) at the Police Headquarters in Shimla and also held additional charge of SP, Cyber Crime (CID), has been appointed as the new Superintendent of Police, Kullu, with immediate effect. Madan Kaushal has been directed to report to the Police Headquarters in Shimla. The additional charge of Kullu Deputy Commissioner has been assigned to the district’s SDM until a regular appointment is made.
The case relates to a week-long rave party allegedly held in Kasol between June 4 and June 11. The event came under judicial scrutiny after videos purportedly showing drug consumption surfaced on social media, prompting a public interest litigation before the Himachal Pradesh High Court.
During the hearing, the High Court observed that there was prima facie evidence suggesting large-scale drug use during the event and questioned the role of the district administration and police, noting that they had failed to take timely and effective action. The police maintained that permission had only been granted for the installation of a sound system and not for a rave party.
Taking a serious view of the matter, the High Court directed the state government to transfer the Kullu Deputy Commissioner, Superintendent of Police and SDM within a week. It also ordered criminal proceedings against the officers, a direction that has since been stayed by the Supreme Court.
With the Supreme Court refusing to stay the transfer orders, the Sukhu government has now replaced the district’s top civil and police officials while the legal challenge to the remaining aspects of the High Court’s order continues.
