Bhubaneswar: A public interest litigation (PIL) challenging the process for selecting the new Director General of Police (DGP) in Odisha was filed in the Supreme Court Tuesday, even as the state government Monday hurriedly promoted 1994-batch IPS officers Sanjeeb Panda and Yashwant Kumar Jethwa from Additional Director General (ADG) rank to DGP rank.
Senior advocate P Chidambaram was arguing in the apex court for the petitioner, Jayanta Das, of Baleshwar district. A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant heard the matter. Chidambaram told the court that Odisha government had earlier sent a list of 11 IPS officers to Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) for selection of the state’s new DGP.
The UPSC was required to shortlist three officers from the list after consultations involving state and Union government officials and the commission’s board August 7. However, the state government withdrew the list, and UPSC subsequently permitted the withdrawal, Chidambaram said. The state government is now preparing to send a fresh list to the UPSC.
The petitioner contended that the move amounts to violation of Supreme Court’s directions in the Prakash Singh case. He argued that only IPS officers in the Level 16 category should be considered for appointment as DGP. The Odisha government allegedly tried Monday night or early Tuesday to promote an ADGP-rank officer and include the officer’s name in the UPSC’s list of eligible director general-rank officers, Chidambaram said.
He said the Odisha government had sent a list of IPS officers to the UPSC in April but later withdrew it. It subsequently sent a list comprising three DG-rank and eight ADG-rank IPS officers. At its meeting August 7, the UPSC directed the state government to submit only a list of DG-rank officers, the senior advocate said. He described the matter as one involving public interest and said no officer had filed a writ petition on the issue.
The CJI then asked whether any government officer had approached the court over the matter. Chidambaram replied that officers of the relevant rank were primarily waiting for consideration for appointment as DGP. He said the petitioner in the case was the son of a former freedom fighter. The CJI said UPSC knows how to identify eligible officers and include qualified candidates in the list for the post.
“If an ineligible list is submitted, the UPSC will act in accordance with the Supreme Court’s directions,” Kant said. Chidambaram then argued that the Odisha government had promoted officers of the ADGP rank to DGP rank and included their names in the fresh list. By doing so, the government was presenting them to the UPSC as DGPs, which, he contended, amounted to a clear violation of the court’s directions.
Chidambaram sought a hearing on the matter Wednesday, and the CJI agreed to hear it. However, the list of matters scheduled for hearing Wednesday, published on the Supreme Court website late Tuesday evening, does not mention the case concerning the appointment of Odisha’s DGP.