Officers with six months’ tenure can be named DGP: Supreme Court

Officers with six months’ tenure can be named DGP: Supreme Court

1. The Supreme Court has issued clarification on its last year order on police reforms.It said that officers who have a minimum of six months tenure left in service shall be considered for the post of director general of police (DGP). Earlier,the court had ruled that a person appointed as the DGP must have a minimum two-year period of service.
2. The apex court modification came on a plea filed by former Uttar Pradesh DGP Prakash Singh.The petitioner contended that appointing DGP’s who have a minimum two-year period left for retirement would undermine the prospects of other meritorious and eligible officers.
3. Last year,Supreme Court had ordered all states and Union territories to not appoint any police officer as acting Director General of Police (DGP).
4. It directed all the states to send names of senior police officers to the UPSC for being considered as probable candidates to be appointed as DGPs.The UPSC will prepare a list of three most suitable officers and the states will be free to appoint one of them as police chief.
5. 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.It had enabled them get the benefit of an additional two-year tenure till the age of 62 years.