Bhubaneswar, Aug 13: The Supreme Court on Thursday temporarily halted the process of appointing Odisha’s next Director General of Police (DGP), directing the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) not to finalise the selection before August 18.
A bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant issued the direction after senior advocate P. Chidambaram mentioned a public interest litigation (PIL) challenging the procedure adopted for selecting the next Odisha police chief.
The petition alleges that the selection process is not in conformity with the guidelines laid down by the Supreme Court in its landmark Prakash Singh judgment on police reforms and the appointment of state police chiefs.
Chidambaram told the court that the UPSC had scheduled a meeting on Thursday to finalise a panel of candidates for the Odisha DGP post. He sought urgent intervention, pointing out that although the PIL was listed for hearing, there was a possibility that it might not be taken up before the selection process proceeded.
He further alleged that an IPS officer was promoted on Wednesday in a manner that could facilitate the officer’s inclusion in the UPSC shortlist.
Odisha Advocate General Pitambar Acharya strongly opposed the allegations, maintaining that there had been no violation of the prescribed rules. He also questioned the maintainability of the PIL, arguing that the matter essentially concerned service-related issues.
The bench also raised doubts over whether the PIL could be entertained, with the CJI observing that none of the officers allegedly affected by the selection process had approached the court.
The bench then sought the views of Senior Advocate Raju Ramachandran, who is assisting the Supreme Court as amicus curiae in the Prakash Singh case. Ramachandran supported the petitioner’s contention and submitted that the procedure being followed for appointing Odisha’s DGP was inconsistent with the guidelines laid down by the apex court.
After considering the submissions, the bench directed the counsel appearing for the UPSC to defer the meeting scheduled to finalise the DGP selection. The court’s intervention has effectively put the appointment process on hold until at least August 18, adding another layer to the ongoing controversy surrounding the selection of Odisha’s next police chief.
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