The court's ruling came keeping in view the provisions of Rule 3 of All India Services (Discipline & Appeal) Rule, 1969. The Rule has been made returnable on October 7.

Minister of State for Home Haren Pandya has said the State Government will on Thursday file an appeal before a Division Bench against the stay.

The two IPS officers were suspended following police firing in which seven people were killed in Surat last Friday during the Ganesha immersion festival. Vijoy was Surat Additional Commissioner of Police at that time and he, along with Agarwal, was charged with using excessive force.

Two separate petitions filed by Vijoy and Agarwal denied that excessive force was used by them. They stated thatfive days before the festival, the Surat Commissioner of Police had held a meeting with the organisers and it was decided that only about 54 Ganapatis would be permitted to take the old route through Madina Masjid on Limbayat road.

The petitions contended that in spite of the new arrangement, those not having permits for the the old route insisted on passing through the Madina Masjid area. They said the police tried to first disperse the 20,000 to 22,000-strong mob by using water cannons but members of the crowd broke the pipes. This forced the police to fire teargas shells.

The petition stated that after the teargas shells were used up, the police asked for replenishment, a fact recorded by the control room. Following this, the police resorted to lathicharge.

Association support

Unhappy over the suspension of two police officers involved in the Surat firing, the Gujarat IPS Officers' Association on Tuesday criticised Director General of Police C P Singh for giving an adverse report againstthem. The Association has decided to support the suspended officers.