The Odisha government may have to appoint an acting DGP, as the Empanelment Committee Meeting convened by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) on Friday to shortlist three names for the post of a regular DGP remained inconclusive, and the decision was deferred.
As current DGP YB Khurania (IPS:1990:OD) is set to retire on August 16, it is unlikely that the UPSC panel can be convened by that time to complete the process of shortlisting. This means the state government may have to appoint an acting DGP until the empanelment committee meets again to finalise the three names.
As per the Supreme Court’s guidelines, the UPSC is supposed to shortlist a panel of three officers from the list of top-ranking IPS officers submitted by the state, out of which the state govt selects one for the DGP post.
The Odisha govt had reportedly sent a list of 11 senior IPS officers to the UPSC for shortlisting, which featured three DG-ranked officers, including Fire Services chief Sudhansu Sarangi of the 1990 batch and two 1993 batch officers—Director (intelligence) RP Koche and DG (prisons) Susanta Nath. The rest are ADG-rank officers.
According to sources, the process was aborted after the state govt reportedly informed the UPSC panel on the meeting day that it was planning to withdraw the integrity certificate of one of the three DG-ranked officers. An integrity certificate can be withdrawn or withheld by the government in case of material facts or proceedings emerging against an officer.
The Supreme Court has been trying hard to ensure that every state has a regular DGP with a fixed tenure of two years and has even authorized the UPSC to initiate contempt against the officer and the state responsible for delays in starting the process of appointing a regular DGP.
But in this case, the Odisha govt cannot be accused of not following the apex court’s guidelines, as it is the process that remains inconclusive.
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