Punjab Had 3 DGPs in 18 Months: Why Removal of DGPs Before Tenure Is Not Against SC Order

Removal of a director general of police (DGP) by a state within a few months of appointment does not amount to violation of Supreme Court orders.

It might be surprising for many, but the removal is in accordance with the Apex court order on the basis that they were not working and violating service rules. In some cases, to get a graceful exit from the state, the top officers go on leave silently and take a different path.

A case in point: Punjab, which has seen three DGPs during the tenure fixed by the Supreme Court for one owing to political instability.

Last week, VK Bharwa also went on leave for two months. The first officer to become a scapegoat of political rivalry was the current National Investigation Agency (NIA) chief Dinkar Gupta who went on leave after Charanjit Singh Channi became the CM.

The officer who replaced Gupta — Iqbal Preet Singh Sahota — was also removed and Siddharth Chattopadhayaya was given temporary charge of Punjab Police. But before his retirement, a full-time DGP VK Bhawra was picked with due process. Within a few months, he too, has gone on leave like Gupta, bringing the situation back to square one. All this within a span of 18 months. Now, Gaurav Yadav is the new ‘officiating’ DGP of Punjab Police.

Punjab is not the only state where the DGP has been removed. Recently, the UP Government also removed the DGP, saying he had been “disregarding government work and not taking interest in departmental duties”.

A tenure of a DGP is not fixed in such cases.

Similarly, in Chhattisgarh, DM Awasthi was removed and Ashok Juneja became the DGP. Seven months on, the state police is yet to get a full time UPSC-cleared DGP, even as Juneja is working as the acting DGP.

Not only states, Delhi, which is a Union Territory, also had a temporary police commissioner for close to 11 months — SN Srivastava, before Rakesh Asthana was given the additional charge as CP Delhi just before his retirement.

EXPERTSPEAK

According to Prakash Singh, former DGP of Uttar Pradesh who moved court for fixed tenure for DGPs, two years is the mandatory period, but with conditions.

“The tenure is fixed, but it doesn’t mean that you can do whatever you want. If there are any serious allegations against the officer, or the state finds any violation of rules, the officer can be removed. But again the state has to follow the process of re-appointing the DGP via Union Public Service Commission (UPSC). There have been some cases where the states have tried to change the route by issuing order, amendments, etc, but they have been set aside and clarified by the SC,” Singh told News18.

A former DGP said that the states prefer DGPs with temporary charge. “There have been cases where officers were either asked to go on leave or removed without any reason other than change of guard. Later, the states delayed the process of sending the names to UPSC, claiming the officer has gone on leave, so officially there is a DGP. They are happy with a DGP with temporary charge as it is easy for them to make him/her fall in line. Meanwhile, after a few months, the officer who has gone on leave is moved out of the state on deputation or retires and the government further delays the process of appointing full-time DGPs even for a span of close to one year,” a former DGP told News18, on the condition of anonymity.

According to another DGP rank official, various top officers, even after facing harassment, don’t raise their voice.

“I get calls and requests to challenge appointments from various top officers, as they claim that they are in service and can’t do that. Even when they feel that some illegality has happened, they prefer to be silent and continue their services to get a peaceful retirement. Somebody has to fight if they want the system to change, but only a few are ready to do that,” a former DGP of a state said.

WHAT SUPREME COURT ORDER SAYS

The DGP of a State shall be selected by the state government from among the three seniormost officers of the department who have been empanelled for promotion to that rank by the UPSC on the basis of their length of service, very good record and range of experience for heading the police force.

Once he has been selected for the job, he should have a minimum tenure of at least two years irrespective of his date of superannuation.

THE CATCH

The part of the SC order, which has been used by states to remove DGPs, is that a DGP can be relieved of his responsibilities if the top officer is incapacitated from discharging his duties and in case of any service rules violation.

In Uttar Pradesh, Mukul Goel was removed as the DGP for “disregarding government work and not taking interest in departmental duties”. Similarly, Punjab DGPs Iqbal Preet Singh Sahota and Siddharth Chattopadhayaya were also removed on different occasions on similar grounds.

The court order states: “The DGP however may be relieved of his responsibilities by the State Government acting in consultation with the State Security Commission consequent upon any action taken against him under the All India Services (Discipline and Appeal) Rules or following his conviction in a court of law in a criminal offence or in a case of corruption, or if he is otherwise incapacitated from discharging his duties.”

ANOTHER HURDLE

According to an order of the SC, an officer having a service tenure of six months or less can’t be named to the DGP panel. According to various top officials, in some cases, states delay the process to ensure that few officers are left with six months to retire, making them ineligible for the panel.

The states also request the UPSC to allow a cut-off date of their choice to make a few officers eligible for the post of DGP.

The Punjab government, in 2021, insisted that the cut-off date should be September 5, so that Sidharth Chattopadhyaya could become eligible, apart from Dinkar Gupta and VK Bhawra.

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