E-Paper
Next Haryana police chief: Proposal with UPSC to pick 3 eligible officers
Technically, seven officers who have put in 30 years of service are eligible for empanelment but four will be vying for the top job
Nearly two weeks after Haryana director general of police (DGP) Manoj Yadava sought premature repatriation to the Intelligence Bureau (IB) citing career consideration and family requirements, the state government has set in motion the process to pick his successor.
A proposal containing the names of eight IPS officers has been sent to the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) for shortlisting three senior-most officers. Officials said the proposal containing the names of the officers who are eligible for empanelment as DGP and sent to UPSC was approved by chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar.
Apex court’s directions
As per the directions of the Supreme Court, the state DGP shall be selected by the state government from amongst the three senior-most officers of the department who have been empaneled 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, 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 apex court had said in the landmark Prakash Singh judgment of 2006. The SC had in March 2019 clarified that recommendation for appointment to the post of DGP by the UPSC and preparation of panel should be purely on the basis of merit, and of officers who have at least six months of service prior to the retirement.
Officers in reckoning for the top police chair
Technically, seven officers who have put in 30 years of service are eligible for empanelment. They are 1988-batch officer PK Agrawal, 1989-batch officers Mohammad Akil and RC Mishra, 1990-batch officers Shatrujeet Kapoor and Desh Raj Singh and 1991-batch officers Alok Roy and Sanjeev Kumar Jain.
Though the name of the incumbent DGP, Manoj Yadava also figured in the list of eligible officers sent to the UPSC, it’s a mere technicality since he has sought repatriation and has not given his consent for being considered for the job of head of police force.
However, the three IPS officers who will make the cut will actually be the top contenders for the job. Officials said that a realistic assessment of the eligible officers indicate that on the basis of their service record, seniority and range of experience only four officers will be actually will be in contention for making it to the UPSC panel of three officers. They are PK Agrawal, Mohammad Akil, RC Mishra and Shatrujeet Kapoor. After shortlisting three names, the UPSC will send the panel to the state government for selecting the next DGP. The state government will have the discretion of picking one officer from the panel and appointing him as the DGP.
