PrashantNews
Director General of Police (DGP) Abhinav Kumar has urged the Uttarakhand government to follow the process of appointment of new state police chief as per the provisions of the State Police Act 2007.
In a representation to state Home Secretary Shailesh Bagauli, Kumar said the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) and the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) have a decisive role to play in the present process of appointment of new DGP in the hill state, which in his view is not proper in “constitutional and practical point of view.”
Kumar, a 1996-batch officer of the Indian Police Service (IPS), drew the attention to the provisions of the Uttarakhand Police Act 2007 in this regard wherein the DGP would be appointed from a panel of eligible officers for the post after getting clearance from a screening committee of the state government. He said the Act clearly states that the number of officers in the panel cannot be more than three times the sanctioned strength of the posts of the DGP.
In this context, he said that recently new rules have been implemented in the neighbouring Uttar Pradesh state for the appointment of new DGP as per the directions of the Supreme Court so that the state government continues to play a decisive role in the appointment of the head of the police force in accordance with the constitutional provisions and the decision of the Supreme Court.
“Since policing is a state subject in List II of Schedule VII of the Constitution of India. It is important that the Uttarakhand government also considers implementing such rules. This will ensure transparency and autonomy in the appointment of DGPs and also ensure a decisive role of the state government,” he said.