Recently, the Nagaland government submitted to the Supreme Court that the United Public Service Commission (UPSC) had on 15 December forwarded a “panel” of prospective Director General of Polices (DGPs) to the state, but the list had only one name — 1992-batch officer Rupin Sharma, who was appointed as Nagaland DGP.
Key points
- Nagaland objected, arguing that the Supreme Court had said in the Prakash Singh judgment (2006) that the panel must have at least three officers — and UPSC must therefore reduce the service length criterion to 25 years.
- The SC ruled in favour of UPSC, saying this could create a situation in which a senior officer is forced to function under an officer five years junior to him. It also said that the stipulation of three officers in the panel was not sacrosanct.
- Appointments of DGPs are now made on the basis of the Supreme Court judgment on police reforms in Prakash Singh vs Union of India 17 years ago.
- According to the SC’s guidelines on the appointment of police chiefs, the DGP is to be selected by the state government from among the three senior most officers who have been empanelled for promotion to that rank by the UPSC “on the basis of their length of service, very good record and range of experience for heading the police force”.
- The DGP should have a fixed tenure of 2 years in the post, irrespective of the date of retirement.
- A DGP can be removed only in exceptional circumstances.
- Based on the above judgment, the UPSC issued its own guidelines in 2009 on the appointment of police chiefs of states.
- According to these guidelines, states are supposed to draw up and send to the UPSC a list of eligible officers with at least 30 years of service behind them, along with these officers’ service record, performance appraisal, and vigilance clearance.
(Source: Indian Express)
