In a significant move, the Uttar Pradesh government has now acquired the authority to appoint the Director General of Police on its own. In a cabinet meeting, held on Monday, the detailed guidelines for the selection and appointment of the DGP were passed. Now, the state government is not required to send names to the UPSC panel for appointment of a DGP.
The DGP will now have a minimum tenure of two years. The government will have the power to remove a DGP before the tenure if found involved in criminal or corruption cases or found incompetent.
Under this new policy, the selection committee will be chaired by a retired High Court judge and will include the chief secretary, a nominee from the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), the chairman or a nominee from the Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission, the additional chief secretary or principal secretary of the home department, and a retired DGP who has previously served in UP.
The minimum qualification for candidates is that they must have a minimum of six months of service remaining from the date of the vacancy while serving at the DGP level in Pay Matrix Level 16.
The purpose is to create an independent mechanism to select a DGP for a minimum period of two years and keep the selection free from political or executive influence.
This issue arose due to the continuous appointment of temporary DGPs by different states despite the Supreme Court order’s guidelines to appoint a regular DGP for a fixed two year term. The apex court is even hearing acontempt petition for it. The UP government seeks to end the recurring controversy surrounding DGP appointments.
