Bhubaneswar, Aug 13: The Supreme Court on Thursday temporarily halted the process of appointing Odisha’s next Director General of Police (DGP), directing the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) not to finalise the selection before August 18.

A bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant passed the direction after senior advocate P. Chidambaram mentioned a public interest litigation (PIL) challenging the procedure being followed for selecting the Odisha DGP.

The petition alleges that the selection process does not comply with the guidelines laid down by the Supreme Court in its landmark Prakash Singh judgment on police reforms and the appointment of police chiefs.

Chidambaram told the court that the UPSC had scheduled a meeting on Thursday to finalise the panel of eligible candidates. He sought urgent intervention, arguing that although the PIL was listed for hearing, it might not be taken up before the selection process moved ahead.

He also alleged that an IPS officer was promoted on Wednesday in a manner that could make the officer eligible for inclusion in the UPSC shortlist. Odisha Advocate General Pitambar Acharya opposed the allegations, maintaining that there had been no violation of the prescribed rules. He also questioned the maintainability of the PIL, arguing that it essentially concerned a service-related matter.

The bench also raised questions over whether the PIL could be entertained, noting that none of the officers allegedly affected by the process had approached the court.

The bench sought the assistance of Senior Advocate Raju Ramachandran, who is serving as amicus curiae in the Prakash Singh case. Ramachandran supported the petitioner’s contention and submitted that the procedure being followed for Odisha’s DGP appointment appeared inconsistent with the Supreme Court’s guidelines.

After considering the amicus curiae’s submissions, the bench directed the UPSC counsel to defer the scheduled meeting for finalising the DGP selection until August 18.

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