New Delhi/Bhubaneswar: The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear a Public Interest Litigation (PIL), challenging the process for the next Director General of Police of Odisha, on Tuesday.
A bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant and comprising Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana had earlier directed the UPSC to put all empanelment decisions on hold until the hearing, following allegations that the Odisha government was attempting to circumvent the binding guidelines laid down in the landmark 2006 Prakash Singh judgment designed to insulate senior police appointments from executive interference.
The top court further noted that noting that it may also consider insights from amicus curiae Raju Ramachandran before ruling on the next procedural steps.
Senior advocate P Chidambaram, representing the petitioner before a bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant, argued that Odisha initially sent names of three DG-rank officers – Sudhanshu Sarangi, R P Koche, and Susanta Kumar Nath. The pool was then expanded to 11 officers by adding eight Additional Director General (ADG)-rank officers. The government later withdrew the proposal from the UPSC after it raised questions about including ADGP-rank officers in the panel. Two Additional Directors General of Police Sanjeeb Panda and Yeshwant Kumar Jethwa are promoted to DG rank on August 10.
Petitioners alleged that this tactical elevation was designed to smuggle junior officers into the consideration pool ahead of the scheduled selection committee meeting. Advocate General Pitambar Acharya, representing the Odisha government, strongly refuted the allegations, stating that no rules had been violated. He also questioned the maintainability of a PIL in service-related matters.
Meanwhile, 1993-batch IPS officer Vinaytosh Mishra, head of the CID Crime Branch, has taken charges as interim chief of police amid the ongoing legal disputes over a permanent successor of Y B Khurania, who retired from service on August 16.
The outcome of the hearing will determine whether the state must reinstate its original senior panel or if a fresh empanelment process under UPSC oversight will proceed.
