The suspension of Lincolnshire chief constable Neil Rhodes has been quashed.
A judge at the High Court in Manchester has called police and crime commissioner Alan Hardwick's shock decision to suspend Mr Rhodes just over a month ago as "irrational and "perverse."
Judge Stuart Smith said Mr Hardwick had made "fundamental errors" and that he failed to take into consideration Mr Rhodes' 27 years' unblemished record in the force.
Following the decision, Mr Hardwick said: "Whilst I accept today's decision, I must emphasise that the Court's interpretation of the information I received is very different to mine. My concern is that in future, any decision made by a Police and Crime Commissioner which could be considered contentious, is likely to be open to challenge in the courts. The investigation into the serious allegations is still ongoing under the direction of Sir Peter Fahy."
The court heard Mr Rhodes was suspended because he was involved in the pursuit of racial discrimination claims which "he knew were a contrivance".
He "friended" West Yorkshire Police lawyer Afzal Hussain, who was sacked after 17 years with the force and was bringing a lawsuit.
Mr Rhodes then became involved in the proceedings, but his lawyers argued that he simply tried to get the various parties around the table and did not know enough about Mr Hussain's claim to offer any opinion on it.
