E-Paper
HC tells Maharashtra police chief to go
On Thursday, the Bombay High Court set aside the appointment of Anami Narayan Roy as the state’s director-general of police, report Urvi Mahajani & Ketaki Ghoge.
On Thursday, the Bombay High Court set aside the appointment of Anami Narayan Roy as the state’s director-general of police (DGP).
For the first time in the state, the court quashed a government order appointing the police chief, saying: “The entire decision-making process and decision were unduly hasty and not in conformity with accepted administrative norms.”
Roy’s appointment had been challenged by Suprakash Chakravarty, director-general (DG), Anti-Corruption Bureau. Chakravarty argued that Roy had superseded three officers senior to him, which made his appointment illegal. The three officers in question were DG (Housing) S.S. Virk, DG (Home Guards) JD Virkar and Chakravarty himself.
The court directed the government to appoint a new DGP within four weeks but allowed Roy to continue in the post for two weeks so that the government could initiate a fresh appointment process.
However, Roy may well be reappointed DGP. The court made it clear that the appointment, made in March 2008, was being set aside only because the procedure followed was flawed. The flaw was that all eligible officers were not considered. Virk was the one overlooked because he was embroiled in a corruption case in Punjab.
This opens the door for the government to reappoint Roy by getting the procedure right.
“The government can still consider Roy at the time of (the new) appointment,” said Birendra Saraf, Roy’s lawyer.
