West Bengal has moved to reshape the process for appointing its Director General of Police (DGP). According to reports, the state government has passed new rules that will allow it to bypass the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) in selecting its police chief.
Under the revised procedure, a selection committee led by a retired High Court judge will be responsible for appointing the DGP. Other members of the committee will include the Chief Secretary, the Home Secretary, and additional senior officials. The new rules eliminate the earlier requirement of sending a list of senior Indian Police Service (IPS) officers to the UPSC, which would then shortlist three names for the state government to choose from.
Sources indicate that the new framework is inspired by a 2006 Supreme Court verdict on police reforms, stemming from a petition filed by former Uttar Pradesh DGP Prakash Singh. The judgment recommended that states constitute independent selection panels for DGP appointments.
The new regulations could pave the way for the formal appointment of Rajeev Kumar as the permanent DGP for a two-year term. Kumar, who was named acting DGP in December 2023 after being removed from his post by the Election Commission during the polls, was reinstated to the role after the elections by the Mamata Banerjee-led government.
West Bengal is not alone in this move. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Punjab passed the Punjab Police (Amendment) Bill, 2023, to revise key provisions of the Punjab Police Act, 2007, concerning DGP appointments. That bill was sent to the Governor and subsequently forwarded to the President for consideration. Similarly, Uttar Pradesh implemented new rules last year, while the Jharkhand government announced in January that it would also form a selection committee for appointing its police chief.
