SC skeptical about involving HC CJ in state DGP selection

NEW DELHI: Former DGP of UP and Assam Prakash Singh, on whose petition the Supreme Court had 19 years ago laid down the process for selection of state police chiefs by involving the Union Public Service Commission and ordered a fixed two-year tenure for them, on Monday suggested dramatic changes to its ruling, which, he said, had not been upheld by states.

Amicus curiae and senior advocate Raju Ramachandran told a bench of CJI Bhushan R Gavai and Justices K Vinod Chandran and N V Anjaria that many states have framed rules for DGP selection which are very different from the procedure laid down by an SC bench led by then CJI Y K Sabharwal in a judgment on police reforms in 2006.

Ramachandran said Singh has suggested that since the earlier guidelines for selection of DGPs were more honoured in the breach by states, the SC should direct each state to form a panel comprising the chief minister, leader of opposition and chief justice of high court, which would select the DGP from among eligible senior IPS officers. To this, CJI Gavai asked, "To what extent does the SC have the competence to go beyond legislation enacted by states for selection of DGPs? If the HC CJ is made part of the selection process, which is part of the executive's function, would it not breach constitutionally mandated separation of powers between legislature, executive and judiciary?"

The SC rejected contempt pleas against Jharkhand for appointing Anurag Gupta as DGP.