Supreme Court Questions Tamil Nadu's Acting DGP Appointment

New Delhi, September 8 (PTI) - The Supreme Court on Monday raised questions about the Tamil Nadu government's decision to appoint an acting Director General of Police (DGP). The court has instructed the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) to quickly propose candidates for a permanent DGP appointment.

The bench, comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) B R Gavai and Justices K Vinod Chandran and Atul S Chandurkar, was reviewing a petition demanding contempt action against Tamil Nadu for the recent appointment of G Venkatraman as the acting DGP on August 31. "Why do you have an acting DGP?" the bench inquired.

Representing the state, Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi explained that a permanent DGP could not be appointed because one officer had filed a petition before the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) to have his name included in the consideration panel.

In response, the bench instructed, "We request the UPSC to consider the matter expeditiously. On the recommendation received from the UPSC, the respondent states shall take steps for appointing a regular DGP."

The contempt petition, filed by lawyer Henri Tiphagne, argued that appointing an acting or in-charge DGP contravened a 2018 Supreme Court decision in the Prakash Singh case. This ruling stipulated that a state must send a proposal to the UPSC for the DGP position at least three months before the current incumbent's retirement.

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