SC dismisses IPS officer's plea for two-year tenure for DGPs

The Supreme Court today dismissed former Maharashtra IPS officer S S Virk's petition challenging the government's decision to superannuate him in alleged violation of the apex court's direction that a state DGP should be allowed a minumum term of two years.

The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed former Maharashtra IPS officer S S Virk's petition challenging the government's decision to superannuate him in alleged violation of the apex court's direction that a state DGP should be allowed a minumum term of two years.

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A Bench of Justices Aftab Alam and R M Lodha dismissed the petition after both the Centre and Maharashtra, government submitted that at present unless the civil services rules are amended and the apex court appointed committee examined the issue, it would not be possible to implement the rule.

The apex court had in 2006 in the Prakash Singh Vs Union of India case on police reforms directed that every DGP, after being appointed to the post, should be allowed a minimum of two years tenure irrespective of superannuation age.

The reasoning was that a fixed tenure would insulate the DGP from any influence or extraneous consideration in view of allegations that IPS officers were being used as pawns by the political leadership.

Appearing for the Centre, Solicitor General Gopal Subramaniam told the Bench that the 2006 judgement could not be implemented in Virk's case as the directions were being examined by a committee headed by Justice K T Thomas appointed by the apex court subsequently to review the directions.

The Justice Thomas Committee was appointed by the apex court after the Centre and several states expressed reservations about implementing the two year tenure dictum on the ground that it would adversely affect promotional aspirations of other IPS officers.