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New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday grilled the Tamil Nadu government over the suspension of Additional Director General of Police H M Jayaram, who was directed to be arrested by the Madras High Court.

A bench of Justices Ujjal Bhuyan and Manmohan was informed by the state government’s counsel that the officer was taken into custody and released on Tuesday at around 5 pm.

Jayaram’s counsel submitted that he was released by the police but the government had suspended him.

“He is a senior police officer. Where was the requirement for you to put him under suspension? These kinds of orders are shocking and demoralising,” the bench remarked.

The top court told the TN government counsel to seek instructions on the matter and come back on June 19 for revoking his suspension.

Jayaram moved the apex court against the high court June 16 directive asking the police to arrest him.

His lawyer contended that the Madras High Court‘s order was “based on a confessional statement”.

Jayaram’s plea filed through advocate Rajesh Singh Chauhan further contested the high court directive saying it was passed without “assigning any detailed reasons” while relying upon the purported statements of two accused persons.

The officer claimed he had not moved the high court for any relief and was directed to appear before the court on June 16 in the anticipatory bail application of an accused person.

“The high court failed to take note of the fact that it is the prerogative of the investigating officer to arrest the accused and the impugned order passed by the high court failed to take note of this critical fact and also the fact that the petitioner within a short period of notice not being more than three hours voluntarily appeared before the high court on the directions issued by the high court,” the plea said.

The high court’s direction overlooked the fact that he is a serving police officer in the grade of an additional director general of police (ADGP) and an IPS officer with 28 years’ of experience, the plea argued.

The high court orally directed Tamil Nadu Police to take Jayaram in custody in connection with a kidnapping case in which a girl ran away with a boy on April 5.

Jayaram was detained after he came out of the court building.

Justice P Velmurugan of the high court passed the order while hearing an anticipatory bail application filed by MLA M Jagan Moorthy, who apprehended arrest in the case.

The lawmaker from Puthiya Bharatham Katchi party represents Kilvaithinankuppam (SC) constituency in the state’s Vellore district.

When the matter came up for hearing on June 16, the judge summoned Moorthy and Jayaram, whose official car was allegedly used for the kidnapping, to appear before the court in the afternoon.

They both appeared in the court following which the judge noted the confessions of the accused against the ADGP and ordered his arrest.

The matter in the high court is scheduled to come up on June 26.