Senior IPS officer Pramod Kumar (IPS:1989:TN), presently serving as DGP of Civil Defence and Commandant General, Home Guards, has approached the Supreme Court seeking relaxation of its Prakash Singh judgment that mandates a minimum six-month residual tenure to be considered for the post of Director General of Police (DGP) in states. Kumar is scheduled to retire on September 30, 2025.
At present, he is the senior-most among six DGP-rank officers in Tamil Nadu, while the incumbent state police chief, DGP Shankar Jiwal (IAS:1990:TN), will demit office on August 30, compelling the government to finalize a new DGP as per the apex court’s 2006 guidelines.
In his interim plea, Kumar submitted that though he was accorded DGP rank retrospectively from 2020, the actual promotion order came only in 2024 due to a pending criminal case, which has since been quashed by the Madras High Court. He argued that the delay in clearing his name was beyond his control, and it would be unfair to exclude him merely because he does not have the stipulated six months left in service. He urged the court to direct the UPSC to consider his candidature by relaxing the tenure rule.
A bench headed by Chief Justice of India B R Gavai, along with Justices K Vinod Chandran and N V Anjaria, had earlier issued notice to the Tamil Nadu government. On Monday, the court asked the state to file its response by Friday.
Notably, this is not Kumar’s first legal bid for the top post. In May 2023, he had moved the Madras High Court ahead of then DGP C Sylendra Babu’s (IPS:1987:TN) retirement on June 30, 2023. Kumar argued that he would be eligible for consideration if the extortion case against him was quashed, contending that the CBI had failed to obtain mandatory Union Government approval under Section 6A of the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act, 1946, making the case liable to be set aside. He also pointed out that charges had not been framed for over a decade, leaving the matter pending indefinitely. The High Court, at that time, directed the state to respond within two weeks.
The criminal case against Kumar stemmed from the Paazee Forex Scam of 2009, a multi-crore fraud investigated by the CBI. He was suspended in 2012 over alleged involvement but reinstated six years later. On June 7, 2024, the Madras High Court discharged him from the case, setting aside charges that accused him of extorting money from company directors.
With his record now cleared, Kumar has argued that denying him a fair chance for the DGP position solely on technical grounds would amount to injustice. The Supreme Court is set to hear the matter further on Friday.
Also Read: IPS Pramod Kumar petitions Madras HC to make him one of the contenders for DGP post
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