‘SC Can Decide On Contempt’: Ex-DGP Weighs In On UP’s New Rules To Pick Police Chief – News18

Last Updated:November 05, 2024, 15:04 IST

Prakash Singh, the former DGP of UP who also headed Assam Police and the Border Security Force, had approached the Supreme Court demanding police reforms

The Uttar Pradesh government’s decision to no longer follow UPSC’s order for appointment of the Director General of Police (DGP) has been met with cautious optimism by Prakash Singh, the petitioner in the police reforms case.

Singh, the former DGP of UP who also headed Assam Police and the Border Security Force, had approached the Supreme Court demanding police reforms. In 2006, the apex court had given seven-point guidelines in his case, including directions to the state to have a two-year fixed tenure for the top cop in the state. The apex court had also asked states to send a panel of the senior-most officers to the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC). The DGP was to be chosen by UPSC from within this panel. However, the UP government, in a late-night cabinet decision, decided to no longer depend on UPSC.

‘Partial Implementation’

Singh said prima facie, the UP government’s decision does not seem violative of the Supreme Court order but it is for the apex court to examine if contempt is made out for partial implementation of its order.

“The SC order had said that its direction will hold good till such time as the states pass their own law on the subject. UP, from what I have learnt so far, has come up with directions for appointment of DGP only, rather than come up with a comprehensive Act. This is only one of the seven points. It is for the Supreme Court to examine if this amounts to contempt since it only deals with one aspect of the court’s overall directions,” Singh told CNN-News18.

He, however, pointed out that UP government seems to have incorporated most SC guidelines regarding the DGP’s appointment. “The panel will be headed by a retired high court judge. There will also be a representative of the UPSC apart from the home and chief secretary. The only person missing, as far as I can see, is a representative from the Ministry of Home Affairs. The criteria on who is eligible is also in line with what Supreme Court said,” Singh pointed out.

What UP said

“The objective of the Appointment Rules, 2024, is to establish an independent and transparent mechanism for selection of a suitable person for appointment to the post of DGP to ensure that the said selection is free from political or executive interference and is also in accordance with the specific conditions and policing requirements of Uttar Pradesh,” the UP government guidelines said.

The Uttar Pradesh government amended the Appointment Rules and approved a new set of rules for independent and transparent selection of DGP by a panel headed by a retired high court judge.

The retired HC judge-led selection committee will consist of the chief secretary, a person nominated by the UPSC, the UP Public Service Commission chairman or their nominee, additional chief secretary or principal secretary home and a retired DGP.

The minimum tenure of the DGP will be two years as per the new amendment. The candidates must have six months of service remaining on the date of creation of the vacancy. Only those officers who are currently serving in the DG role at Level 16 of the pay matrix will be considered, the guidelines stated.

Acting DGPs so far

Last month, the Supreme Court had sent notices to states which were not appointing a full-time DGP and bypassing UPSC.

On September 30, notices were issued to Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Odisha, West Bengal, Punjab, and Jharkhand. While Odisha appointed YB Khurania as the full-time DGP after months of acting DGP arrangement, all the other states continue to have part-time police chiefs designated as acting DGP.

The UP government’s latest order is likely to give current acting DG Prashant Kumar a full-time position with a fixed tenure of two years. Officials pointed out that more than 15 officers were senior to Prashant and if the SC guidelines were followed, he may not have made it to the UPSC panel.

Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav, in his social media post, also asked if the UP government’s decision was an attempt by the state government to take the reins from Delhi into its own hands.

“I have heard that arrangements are being made to give a permanent post to a senior officer and extend his tenure by two years… The question is whether the person making the arrangements will himself stay for 2 years or not. Is this an attempt to take the reins from Delhi into their own hands,” he asked in a post on X.