DG & IGP race on bumpy road again

The state has once again recommended names of two DGPs to the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) for the post

The state has once again recommended names of two DGPs to the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) for the post

City police commissioner Shankar Bidari's aspirations to be included in the list of contenders for DGP & IGP may not bear fruit this time, as the state has once again recommended names of two DGPs to the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) for the post.

Fair play? Shankar Bidari wrote a letter to the UPSC stating that even
IPS officers who have completed 30 years of service be considered for
the DGP & IGP's post. File pic

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After much correspondence, the Central Administrative Tribunal has stayed the operation of UPSC letter to the government, and the state government has asked that two present DGPs, Dr DV Guruprasad and ST Ramesh be empanelled for heading the state's top brass post. To avoid further delay, the state hurriedly sent names of IPS officers from 76, 77, 78, 79, 80 and 81 batches. The confusion began after Shankar Bidari, city police commissioner, wrote a letter to the State Chief Secretary and the UPSC asking that even IPS officers who have completed 30 years of service be considered for the post.

The present DG&IGP Dr Ajai Kumar Singh is scheduled to retire on January 31 this year and the senior most IPS officer after him, Guruprasad is supposed to be elevated to the position of DG&IGP. According to rules, either Guruprasad or Rameshu00a0-- the next senior most officersu00a0-- are eligible to head the top post.

The chosen few
A Home Department source stated that the SC in its judgment on the Prakash Singh case in 2006 said that candidates for the post of DG&IGP should be from among three senior-most officers of the state, who are empanelled by the UPSC.

After Singh, there are four officers in the DGP scale - Jija Hari Singh, Sharath Saxena, Guruprasad and Ramesh. Since Hari Singh and Saxena are also going to retire the same day as Ajay Kumar, the state government has nominated Guruprasad and Ramesh.

Guruprasad also approached the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) on January 24, this year and argued that consideration of any person not in the scale of DGP is illegal quoting cases form the past. He quoted the judgment of the Andhra Pradesh High Court, wherein it was held that the selection to the post of head of police department should be only from among the DGPs and no one else.

Flouting rules?

>>An IPS officer said that CID DGP, Guruprasad, is the senior-most IPS officer of the state and should have been the obvious candidate to take over from Ajai Kumar Singh.
>>While the state government is strictly adhering to the rulebook, why should a constitutional body like UPSC flout the rules, he asked.
>>Another officer said that the state has never flouted the seniority-cum-merit policy and when seniority was overlooked in Dinakar's case, it had to face embarrassment.
>>In the 'Dinakar's case,' seniority was overlooked and Srinivasulu was promoted after sending one of his seniors to the central services and Dinakar assumed the DG&IGP post.