J&K: SC refuses to interfere with appointment of acting DGP

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court Tuesday refused to interfere with the Jammu and Kashmir government’s appointing an acting director general of police (DGP) without following the process specified in an earlier order.

A bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud issued notice to the Centre and sought its reply.

The state government on September 6 appointed Dilbagh Singh as acting police chief, replacing S P Vaid who was posted as transport commissioner, without following the procedure in view of “complex security concerns”.

On September 7 it moved the apex court and sought modification in an earlier order which made it mandatory for all states to send the list of three senior most IPS officers to the UPSC for clearance before appointing the DGP.

During the hearing today, Attorney General K K Venugopal, who appeared for the Centre, said the prohibition to appoint an acting DGP was introduced to prevent misuse of the two-year fixed tenure given in an earlier verdict of the apex court.

He said that several states were making appointments of DGPS on acting basis and confirming them on the eve of superannuation.

The top court’s earlier direction had come on an application filed by the Centre in which it claimed that certain states have been appointing acting DGPS and then making them permanent just before the date of their superannuation to enable them get the benefit of an additional two-year tenure till the age of 62 years.