Hyderabad: The appointment of B Shivadhar Reddy as the Telangana Director General of Police (DGP) and Head of Police Force (HoPF) was challenged in the High Court on Thursday, December 18, citing non-compliance with Supreme Court directives.
The petitioner, T Dhangopal Rao, a social activist challenged the officer’s appointment, citing the ‘Prakash Singh vs Union of India’ case where the apex court ruled no state can appoint a head of police on an acting basis.
The ruling made it mandatory for states to submit a list of senior police officers to the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) at least three months before the retirement of the incumbent DGP.
The petitioner stated an RTI response from the UPSC showed that no empanelment committee meeting was held before the appointment of the current Telangana DGP, Shivadhar Reddy.
Claiming that the state government had failed to submit the required list of eligible officers to the UPSC, the petitioner sought a qou-warranto writ from the High Court, quashing Reddy’s appointment.
Appearing for the state, advocate general A Sudharshan Reddy said that a panel was sent to the UPSC by the state government, after which the UPSC sought clarifications.
He said that a qou-warranto writ was not maintainable for this case and any violations of Supreme Court orders must be addressed through contempt proceedings.
The High Court observed that the state must comply with the top court’s orders while agreeing not to issue any interim orders in the case.
The advocate general was directed to obtain specific written instructions on whether a panel of senior IPS officers was duly sent to the UPSC specifically for the current appointment.
The case has been posted for further hearing on December 22.
Follow on Twitter | Posted by Saleha Fatima | 
