The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed the Centre to provide details of state laws or policies that violate the court-mandated guidelines on appointment of police chiefs, which mandate a minimum remaining tenure of at least six months for officers eligible for selection as director general of police (DGP).
“There exist similar laws/rules in other states. Solicitor general Tushar Mehta, who was representing the Centre, urged the court to decide the issue of Jharkhand DGP. The court posted the matter on November 25, asking amicus curiae and senior advocate Raju Ramachandran to provide a comprehensive note on the laws which are in teeth of the Prakash Singh judgment similar to the Jharkhand law. In its October 8 order, the bench said, “In the event of the Rules being annulled, the consequent appointment of Tadasha Mishra as Jharkhand DGP will be required to be set aside.
But the order required me to identify such laws so that the court does not have to deal with the issue piecemeal,” Ramachandran said.
Most states are part of the present proceedings which can be asked to provide details or in the alternative, the Union government can provide this information, according to him. He said that on October 8, while examining the Selection and Appointment of Director General and Inspector General of Police Jharkhand (Head of Police Force) Rules, 2025, the court had asked Jharkhand whether it is keen to “revisit” the rules as it was found to be in “teeth” of the Prakash Singh judgment. Senior advocate Kapil Sibal appearing for Jharkhand said that he had spoken to the state chief secretary and will be filing an affidavit in this regard before the next date of hearing.
The court had even sought the response of Mishra who was represented in court on Tuesday by senior advocate Meenakshi Arora.
In his report submitted to the court, the amicus said the provisions of the Jharkhand Rules which allows an officer having less than six months residual tenure to become DGP is clearly in violation of the court’s Prakash Singh judgment. On Mishra’s appointment, the amicus said, “The appointment of the current DGP one day prior to her retirement is clearly in complete violation of the principles laid down in Prakash Singh judgments and orders.”
