The issue of Odisha DGP’s appointment procedure continues to bother the Supreme Court with senior advocate and Amicus Curiae Raju Ramachandran questioning the empanelment procedure in his submissions on Monday. The amicus specifically raised issues over the exclusion of senior IPS officer Sushant Kumar Nath (IPS:1993:OD) and the sudden promotion of two Additional DGP-rank officers to the rank of DGP and then adding their names to the shortlist.
Ramachandran, along with Dr Charu Mathur, raised the issue of procedural integrity, transparency and adherence to established guidelines in their submisions in the light of the apex court judgment in the Prakash Singh case and recent actions by the Odisha government and the UPSC.
According to sources, the report submitted by the Amicus Curiae raises serious concern over the Odisha government’s creation of temporary ex-cadre DGP posts just before the appointment process, which allowed two Additional DGPs to become eligible for selection to the DGP post.
According to the amicus’s report, this was done after the original eligibility list had already been submitted to the UPSC. The amicus has also submitted that the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) had earlier denied such posts, and the sudden reversal lacked clear justification,” the amicus submitted.
It recommended that only the original eligibility list be considered by the Empanelment Committee to prevent manipulation and ensure fairness.
The amicus urged the top court to direct the Odisha govt to file an affidavit before stating the reasons for withholding the Integrity Certificate of one of the eligible DGP-level officers, given the prevailing position in law and the officer’s continuation in the post of DGP.
Ramachandran further submitted that the Empanelment Committee should consider only the Original Eligibility List submitted on May 14, 2026, and not the Updated List submitted on August 10, 2026, that reflected the promotions.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court on Monday deferred the hearing on a PIL challenging the selection process for the Odisha DGP to September 16 .
A three-judge bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V. Mohana heard the matter and adjourned the proceedings for a week.
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