E-Paper
New Haryana DGP: Nine IPS officers to figure in state’s list to UPSC
Haryana sends 9 IPS officers’ names to UPSC, but proposal doesn’t align with SC directives. Manoj Yadava’s name omitted as he expressed unwillingness to return.
With barely 35 days to go for the retirement of the incumbent director general of police (DGP), PK Agrawal, on August 15, the Haryana government will on Tuesday send a proposal containing the names of nine IPS officers to the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) to select the next head of the state police force.
However, the proposal prepared by the state government does not seem to be in line with the Supreme Court’s directives and undertakings given by the Union ministry of home affairs (MHA) in the apex court.
The state government after taking an undertaking from 1988 batch IPS officer Manoj Yadava – that he does not want to come back to the state to lead the force- has decided to omit his name from the proposal. Yadava, a former DGP who is at present on central deputation as DG (investigation), NHRC is the senior most IPS officer in the Haryana cadre.
A combined reading of the SC ruling (in Prakash Singh judgment) and the MHA undertaking brings out that the DGP will be selected by the state government from amongst the three senior-most officers 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 and the consent of an officer is not required for the purpose of empanelment as DGP of the state.
Yadava’s name went to UPSC even when he wanted to demit DGP’s office.
The argument taken by home minister Anil Vij that Yadava’s name be omitted from the proposal being sent to the UPSC since the former DGP has expressed his unwillingness to come back to his parent cadre does not cut ice in light of the MHA’s January 23, 2023 undertaking before an apex court bench headed by Chief Justice of India, DY Chandrachud. In response to a query, the MHA told the apex court that the consent of an officer is not required for the purpose of empanelment as DGP of the state. The MHA response came during the hearing of an interlocutory application filed by the Nagaland government.
In fact, the name of Yadava, being the senior most Haryana IPS, had figured in the July 2021 proposal sent to the UPSC for shortlisting a panel of three senior-most officers for selection of his successor as the DGP even when he had expressed his willingness to go back on the central deputation.
Akil, Mishra and Kapur in the reckoning
The nine IPS officers whose names are being sent to the UPSC are in the rank of director general or additional director general of police and have completed at least 30 years of service as on the date of the occurrence of the vacancy will fall in the zone of consideration. They are - 1989 batch officers, Muhammad Akil and RC Mishra; two 1990 batch officers- Shatrujeet Kapur and Desh Raj Singh; a 1991 batch officer Alok Kumar Roy; two 1992 batch officers- OP Singh and Ajay Singhal; and two 1993 batch officers- Alok Mittal and AS Chawla. The name of 1991 batch IPS officer, SK Jain has been held back as he was could not get an integrity certificate from the state government, having adverse entries in his service records.
The proposal will be sent to the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) which will prepare a panel of three officers and communicate it to the state government. The state government will select the next DGP from among the three shortlisted officers.
It seems quite clear now that 1989 batch IPS officers, Akil and Mishra and 1990 batch officer, Shatrujeet Kapur will make the cut.
Why SC sought MHAs opinion
The SC on January 9, 2023 while hearing an interlocutory application had asked the MHA to file an affidavit on whether concurrence of an officer is necessary for empanelling him/her for appointment as DGP where the officer is on central deputation and whether the services of A. Sunil Acharya were required due to the exigencies of service on central deputation or whether he can be empanelled for the post of DGP, Nagaland in view of the fact that a sufficient number of eligible officers are not available for empanelment.
The MHA clarified the position stating that the consent of the officer is not required for the purpose of empanelment as DGP of the state but since Acharya is on central deputation, posted as additional secretary in the cabinet secretariat, having regard to the nature of the posting, it would not be possible to relieve him for appointment as DGP, Nagaland.
Officials said that state government could have chosen a more appropriate path by requesting the MHA to make a similar contention before the UPSC in case of Manoj Yadava.
