Kejriwal vs Jung again? Appointed by AAP govt, Tihar DG steps down

In a jolt to the Delhi government, senior IPS officer JK Sharma stepped down as Tihar prisons chief, hours after being given the appointment order. Sharma, a 1982 batch IPS officer – presently posted as director general (Home Guard) – was given additional charge of Prisons on Tuesday afternoon, an order which was reportedly passed without consultation with the lieutenant governor.

Senior IPS officer JK Sharma stepped down as Tihar prisons chief, hours after being given the appointment order by the Delhi home department on Tuesday.

JK Sharma’s appointment was reportedly issued by the Delhi government without consulting the lieutenant governor. In Delhi, the transfer and appointment of all gazette officers are approved by the L-G. (AFP Photo)

Sharma, a 1982-batch IPS officer – presently posted as director general (Home Guard) – was given additional charge of prisons in the afternoon, an order which was reportedly passed without consulting the lieutenant governor.

In Delhi, the transfer and appointment of all gazette officers is approved by the lieutenant governor. However, Sharma’s appointment to Tihar was signed by an additional secretary of the home department.

Taken by surprise, L-G Najeeb Jung is said to have nullified the order, a move that can become another flashpoint in the tussle between Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and Jung. The two have been at loggerheads since the appointment of joint commissioner of police Mukesh Meena as the Anti Corruption Branch chief in June last year.

Read: Jung again: AAP govt names prisons chief, L-G terms order ‘null & void’

By Tuesday evening, Sharma returned the charge to the earlier officer as the appointment was not approved by ‘competent authority’. Prison sources said Sharma took the decision when he learned that the home department passed the appointment without Jung’s approval.

IPS officer JK Sharma refused his appointment as Tihar prisons chief on Tuesday, hours after the delhi government appointed him.

The Delhi home department appointed JK Sharma, a 1982 batch IPS officer presently posted as director general (Home Guard), as Tihar Prisons chief on Tuesday afternoon. The appointment however was given without the lieutenant governor’s knowledge.

In a letter issued under the DG (Prison) credentials, Sharma further said he will be “happy to resume the above mentioned charge on approval of competent authority”.

The country’s largest prison has been without a chief since February 28, when DG Alok Verma was made Delhi Police Commissioner.

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Delhi is in the unique position of being governed by a chief minister and his cabinet as well as the Centre through a lieutenant general, the constitutional head of the National Capital Region. Among the issues that have brought the two sides in conflict has been the issue of law and order coming under Jung’s purview; Kejriwal has time and again sought to bring the police department under the Delhi government’s ambit.