NEW DELHI — A plea has been filed before the Supreme Court against the state of Tripura’s failure to appoint a permanent Director General of Police (DGP) and adhere to the apex court directions relating to approaching the Union Public Services Commission (UPSC) for appointment of the police chief.
Keeping in mind the serious security concerns of a border state, the petition said that the Tripura government is duty-bound to ensure that a permanent DGP is appointed in compliance with the judgment of the top court in the Prakash Singh case.
In 2006, the Supreme Court directed that the Director General of Police (DGP) of a state was to be selected from amongst the three senior most officers of the department who have been empaneled for promotion to that rank by the UPSC.
The same was to be done on the basis of the length of service of such officers, very good record and range of experience for heading the police force, and the selected candidate should have a minimum tenure of at least two years irrespective of their date of superannuation.
Further, all states were directed to send their proposals well in time to the UPSC, and the UPSC was tasked with preparing the panel, and after having regard to merit and seniority, the state was duty bound to appoint from such a panel.
The petition stated, “The Director General of Police holds a significant responsibility and plays a crucial role in maintaining law and order in the state and ensures public safety. The Director General of Police is usually appointed by the state government and works closely with other law enforcement agencies and government functionaries to uphold the rule of law.”
It added that owing to political instability in Bangladesh and atrocities against the Hindu Minority of Bangladesh in the recent months, the bordering towns of Tripura are facing severe law and order situation as not only there is heightened infiltration and smuggling activities which falls within the purview of the Border Security Force (BSF), but these infiltrators are also causing serious law and order situation for people of Tripura which shares a long border with Bangladesh.
Despite the categorical directions of the Supreme Court, the state of Tripura till date has failed to take any steps in this behalf, contended the petition.
“In a border state which has a long border with Bangladesh and which is constantly under threat not only from infiltrators but also the law and order situation arising out of illegal and unlawful activities like, smuggling, drug trafficking, safety of women and children, all being issues of local police, it is necessary to insure independence of the police authorities and the same can only be achieved if pending a legislation the guidelines laid down by the Supreme Court Court in the judgment of Prakash Singh (as modified by the order dated July 03, 2018) are implemented in letter and spirit so as to serve the ends of justice,” said the petition filed through advocate Anshuman Singh.
The plea, listed before a bench headed by CJI Sanjiv Khanna on Tuesday (April 1), seeks direction to the Tripura government to take effective steps to comply with the apex court rulings relating to the appointment of the DGP.