Bihar, Punjab take DGP issue to SC

Bihar, Punjab take DGP issue to SC

News

1. The Supreme Court agreed to hear the pleas of Bihar and Punjab seeking modification of an earlier order directing the States to mandatorily take assistance of the Union Public Service Commission in shortlisting names for appointing Director General of Police (DGP).

Important Facts

2. Earlier Supreme Court ordered a series of direction regarding appointment of DGP

• SC ordered all states and Union territories to not appoint any police officer as acting Director General of Police (DGP)
• the appointment of DGPs and police officers should be merit-based and transparent and officers like DGPs and Superintendents of Police should have a minimum fixed tenure of two years.
• Before appointing DGP states need to send names of senior police officersat least three months prior to the retirement of the incumbentto the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) for being considered as probable candidates to be appointed as DGPs or Police Commissioners as the case may be.
• The UPSC, in turn, will prepare a list of three most suitable officers and the states will be free to appoint one of them as police chief.
• SC also ordered that a person, who had been selected and appointed as DGP, has a reasonable period of service left.

3. The apex court also ruled that any rule or state law on the subject of the appointment of police officers “will be kept at abeyance”.The bench, however, granted liberty to the states, which have made laws on police appointments, to move before it seeking modification of its order.
4. The top court’s direction had come on an application filed by the Centre in which it claimed that certain States have been appointing acting DGPs and then making them permanent just before the date of their superannuation to enable them get the benefit of an additional two-year tenure till the age of 62 years.
5. Now, the governments of Bihar and Punjab told the SC that the July 3 order needed to be modified as they have already come out with State laws to deal with the issue of appointment of DGP.
6. The apex court has now fixed the pleas of both States for hearing on December 7.