The Supreme Court has taken a firm view of delays by several states in appointing Directors General of Police, flagging a pattern of prolonged inaction that it said runs contrary to its own directions on police reforms.
On Thursday, the apex court authorised the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) to formally flag such delays before it, after noting that many states have failed to send proposals for DGP appointments within the prescribed time frame.
The court also directed the UPSC to act swiftly in the case of Telangana, where the post of regular DGP has remained vacant since 2017.
A bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi granted the UPSC four weeks to convene a meeting and make recommendations for the appointment of a DGP for Telangana.
The last regular DGP in the state was appointed in November 2015 and retired two years later, in November 2017.
The bench endorsed concerns raised by the UPSC that repeated delays by state governments were undermining the intent of the court’s directions issued in the Prakash Singh case, a landmark judgment on police reforms.
In that case, the Supreme Court had mandated that DGPs be selected from a panel of three senior-most IPS officers empanelled by the UPSC, and that they be given a fixed tenure of two years.
The UPSC told the court that delays by states were depriving senior and eligible officers of the opportunity to be considered for the top police post.
According to the Commission, several states continue to delay sending proposals “in total disregard of the apex court's directions,” preferring to run police forces through acting DGPs rather than making regular appointments.
“In order to ensure that there is no defiance of the directions issued in the Prakash Singh case, we hereby authorise the UPSC to firstly write to the state governments to sent timely proposal for appointment of DGP,” the bench said.
The court further directed the UPSC to approach it directly if states fail to comply. It asked the Commission to move an application before the court in the Prakash Singh case where proposals are not submitted on time.
The directions came while hearing a petition filed by the UPSC challenging a January 9 order of the Telangana High Court.
The high court had asked the Commission to complete the selection process for Telangana’s DGP “preferably within four weeks,” in line with Supreme Court guidelines and based on the process initiated by the state government.
During the hearing, counsel for the UPSC pointed to what it described as a serious lapse by the Telangana government in failing to submit proposals within the timeline laid down by the apex court.
The Commission also flagged a broader concern that delays in convening empanelment committee meetings were leading to situations where senior officers either retired before being considered or were overlooked.
The bench took note of this submission and agreed that prolonged delays were affecting the careers of senior officers.
“We hold without any hesitation that the UPSC should convene the empanelment committee meeting at the earliest and make recommendation for appointment of DGP for the state of Telangana at the earliest,” the bench said.