Odisha appoints Vinaytosh Mishra as acting DGP amid police chief selection row

Vinaytosh Mishra will take charge as Odisha DGP on August 16 as the Supreme Court hears a plea challenging the state’s police chief selection process.

The Odisha government on Friday appointed senior IPS officer Vinaytosh Mishra as acting director general of police (DGP).

Odisha names Vinaytosh Mishra acting DGP after YB Khurania’s retirement, as the Supreme Court defers the selection process amid a row over eligibility. (X)

Mishra, currently director general of the Crime Branch and Criminal Investigation Department, will take additional charge as DGP after incumbent Y.B. Khurania retires on August 16, the state government said in a statement.

“After the retirement of incumbent DGP YB Khurania on August 16, Vinaytosh Mishra, DGP, CID, Crime Branch will remain in additional charge of DGP (Head of Police Force) until further orders,” the government said.

The appointment comes a day after the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) assured the Supreme Court that it would defer its selection process for the state’s next police chief until August 18. The court is hearing a public interest litigation challenging the state government’s selection process.

“Any backdoor entry is not acceptable…UPSC must not finalise till the next date of hearing,” a bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant had said.

The court’s intervention followed an application alleging that the Odisha government was attempting to circumvent the Supreme Court’s prescribed procedure for the appointment of DGPs by introducing officers who were not part of the original list of three senior-most eligible officers sent to the UPSC.

The court has also said eligibility criteria cannot be bypassed because the number of eligible officers is limited. Under the framework, the apex-level DGP post in Level 17 is to be filled from among officers holding DGP-level posts in Level 16.

Senior advocate P. Chidambaram, appearing for the petitioner in the PIL, told the SC that the state government had breached the Supreme Court’s directions by promoting an additional director general of police and seeking to include the officer among candidates for the DGP post.

“The State of Odisha is breaching the Prakash Singh judgment,” Chidambaram told the court, referring to the Supreme Court’s landmark 2006 ruling that laid down procedures for police reforms and appointments of state police chiefs.

Odisha’s Advocate General opposed the PIL, warning that Khurania’s impending retirement could leave Odisha with an acting DGP if the selection was not completed.

“The DGP is set to retire ... if no appointment happens, we will have an Acting DGP,” the Advocate General told the bench. Subsequently, the UPSC, which was to meet on Thursday for choosing the new DGP, deferred the meeting.

Chief Justice Kant said that if the court found that its directions had been violated, it could set aside the appointment. Justice Bagchi, who was also on the bench, said the court was not concerned with the credentials of the petitioner’s client while considering whether its earlier orders had been followed.