The Telangana High Court Wednesday directed the state government to continue the process of forwarding a panel of eligible senior IPS officers to the Union Public Service Commission’s empanelment committee for the Commission to shortlist the suitable candidates for the appointment of the state’s director general of police, head of police force (DGP-HOPF) as per the directions of the supreme court in the ‘Prakash Singh vs Union of India’ case.
The bench of Justice Pulla Karthik issued the directions in a writ petition filed by T Dhangopal Rao, who sought the court’s directions to quash the appointment of B Shivadhar Reddy, DGP Coordination, as the acting DGP-HOPF in full-additional-charge on September 26 as it was in violation of the Supreme Court ruling that no state shall appoint a head of police force on an acting basis. The bench asked the state government to continue the process and report compliance in two weeks.
During the hearing, counsel for the UPSC submitted that the state government, on April 25, forwarded a letter to the UPSC requesting the convening of the empanelment committee meeting for the appointment to the post of DGP-HOPF for Telangana. The Commission, in a reply dated May 20, requested the state to furnish deficient information for processing the proposal to convene the meeting.
The Commission found the response letter dated 18 June from the state government still incomplete, a letter was again sent to the state government on July 21. Further reminders were also issued to the state government to expedite the response, the counsel contended.
Advocate General A Sudershan Reddy, representing the state government, informed that the state had sought clarification from the UPSC whether the name of senior IPS officer Abhilasha Bhisht (1994 batch), who belongs to the Andhra Pradesh cadre and continues to serve in the Telangana cadre as per the High Court order, could be included in the list. In response, the UPSC has clarified that the officer is not eligible to be included in the list to be forwarded to the UPSC.
“In view of the above, the state is directed to continue the process of sending the panel of selection to the post of DGP and report compliance,” the judge said. The matter is posted for hearing on January 20.