The Supreme Court finally concluded its hearing in the case concerning the selection process of the next Odisha DGP and reserved its verdict on Tuesday. A three-judge bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V. Mohana is hearing the case.
The judgment is now expected after October 8, when the apex court is scheduled to hear a similar petition concerning Jharkhand DGP.
CJI Surya Kant expressed strong displeasure over the growing tendency among most states to bypass the apex court’s judgment in the Prakash Singh case to have a police chief of their choosing.
The CJI said the court would examine whether the DGP appointments in Odisha and Jharkhand followed the directions in the 2006 verdict. The bench also pulled up the UPSC for a casual approach.
The pleas alleged that Odisha sought to include a relatively junior officer in the zone of consideration.
The exclusion of senior IPS officer Sushant Kumar Nath from the state govt’s panel also came up during the hearing. The state govt had withheld Nath’s integrity certificate and sent a revised proposal excluding his name.
The case also involves the promotion of two 1994-batch IPS officers, Sanjeeb Kumar Panda and Yashwant Kumar Jethwa, to Level 16 through temporary ex-cadre arrangements and their subsequent consideration in the DGP selection process.
During the final hearing, the bench questioned the Odisha govt over the creation of temporary ex-cadre posts and the subsequent addition of officers to the pool considered for DGP selection, despite the UPSC having already recommended a panel of three eligible cadre IPS officers.
During the hearing, the top court was informed by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta that Odisha govt had begun the appointment process of the two promoted IPS officers to the DGP posts.
Mehta, along with Odisha Advocate General Pitambar Acharya defended the state govt’s decision, submitting that the promotion was granted to create a larger pool to ensure more eligible candidates for the DGP post and that the process followed the applicable MHA parameters and the Supreme Court guidelines laid down in the Prakash Singh case.
Mehta also submitted that the Odisha govt had written to the Centre in 2024 seeking approval for two temporary DGP posts, which was granted.
One officer was to be promoted to DGP rank on August 16, following the retirement of an officer, and another on November 30. Mehta urged the bench to view the state govt’s decision positively.
The proceedings also examined the role of the UPSC in preparing and reviewing the panel in accordance with the prescribed framework.
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