The Supreme Court on Monday sought the response of the State of Bihar in a plea challenging the appointment of DGP Sanjeev Kumar Singhal in complete violation of its judgment passed in the case of Prakash Singh Versus Union of India, wherein the procedure was enumerated for appointment of the Director General of Police.
A bench led by Chief Justice of India N.V. Ramana was informed by Senior Counsel Jay Salva appearing for the petitioner that the Court is already seized of two other matters which were filed challenging the appointment of the Jharkhand DGP and the appointment of Rakesh Asthana as Police Commissioner, Delhi. Justices A.S. Bopanna and Hima Kohli were also part of the bench.
The writ in the nature of Public Interest Litigation has been filed by Narendra Kumar Dhiraj, a resident of Bihar, alleging that on September 22, 2020, the State of Bihar (R-1) gave additional power to the S.K. Singhal (R-3) as Director General of Police vide Notification after sudden VRS by Gupteshwar Pandey, the earlier DGP.
Further, on December 19, 2020, the State of Bihar appointed Singhal as DGP in complete violation of the Judgment of Prakash Singh Versus Union of India and Ors (2006) 8 SCC 1.
Furthermore, on January 18, 2021, The tenure of DGP i.e. Singhal was fixed for two years ending in December 2022.
According to the plea, the appointment was done through three notifications from September 2020 to January 2021. The term was fixed by last notification of January 2021. “The person who’s superannuation was in August 2021 will now retire in December 2022. Total term he is going to enjoy is two years and three months as DGP and after retirement he will enjoy the services for more than one year four months,” stated the plea.
The petition is filed through AOR Amrita Kumari.