“Today, the Mizoram government relieved me from service and I am going back to Karnataka,” he told Deccan Herald from Aizawl.
Returning
“I will report to the Karnataka government for duty on May 4”. When asked whether he was a contender for the post of the next DG&IGP of the State, he said, “I will not speculate anything. But, I will be the senior most IPS officer in the State as on May 31”.Pachuau, a 1977 batch IPS officer, was on inter-state deputation to his home state Mizoram for the past four-and-a-half years.
Retirement
On May 31, both A R Infant, the incumbent DG&IGP, and his predecessor Shankar Bidari will retire on superannuation. Pachuau, who will be the senior most officer, is retiring in February, 2015.
The Karnataka government, which is caught in a legal wrangle on the appointment of the DG&IGP, has already started the process of searching a candidate for the top post.
Possibility
“As Pachuau is the senior most IPS officer in the Karnataka cadre, the government may appoint him the DG&IGP. The State government is of the opinion that Pachuau’s appointment will conform with a Supreme Court guideline of 2006 that DGP appointees should have at least two years of service left," sources told Deccan Herald.
Despite the Supreme Court setting aside the High Court of Karnataka verdict quashing Bidari’s appointment as the DG&IGP, it is learnt that the State government is not in a hurry to reinstate him. Though the Supreme Court quashed the verdict of the High Court, it did not say that Bidari should be made the DG&IGP.
This means the State government can appoint an officer of its choice, sources said.