Jharkhand is grappling with uncertainty over the appointment of a new head of state police, effective January 1. A new DGP has to be put in the saddle within five days, as the acting DGP, Tadasha Mishra (IPS:1994:JH), is going to retire on December 31. Yet it is not clear as to who will succeed Mishra.
Going by the seniority list, there are only three DG-rank officers in Jharkhand—1990 batch IPS officer Anil Palta, 1992 batch IPS officer Prashant Singh, and 1993 batch IPS officer MS Bhatia.
While Palta is currently serving as DG Railways, Prashant Singh is DG Wireless, and MS Bhatia is DG cum Administrator of the Home Guard and Fire Department.
Sampat Meena is another officer from the 1994 batch but has already been empanelled at the DG rank at the Centre, so her chances of coming back to Jharkhand are slim.
What is worth noting here is the fact that the state government has enacted its own rule, the “Director General and Inspector General of Police, Jharkhand (Head of Police Force) Selection and Appointment Rules, 2025,” for the DGP’s appointment. The DGP can be appointed in accordance with Rule 10 (1) of this rule. It was under this rule that the state government appointed Anurag Gupta as DGP.
However, the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) refused to accept the state government’s rules. If the state government again uses this same rule to select the DGP, the matter could become controversial again.
According to the Supreme Court guidelines, a regular DGP must be appointed for a fixed two-year tenure. IPS officers with at least six months of service remaining are to be considered for the DGP post. All three officers mentioned above, Anil Palta, Prashant Singh, and MS Bhatia, meet this requirement.
In this situation, the state government currently has only three options to choose from: Anil Palta, Prashant Singh, and MS Bhatia. All three officers have extensive policing experience and maintain a clean and unblemished image.
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