Almost two weeks after the Jammu and Kashmir government appointed Dilbagh Singh as the interim Director General of Police (DGP), the Supreme Court has directed Singh to continue in the position till the UPSC submits its reply with respect to the names of senior police officers for regular appointment within five weeks.
Singh, who is also Director General (Prisons), was given additional charges of the DGP after former police chief SP Vaid was unceremoniously removed on late Thursday, 6 September, and shunted as the Transport Commissioner.
The state government, meanwhile, approached the Supreme Court to explain the reason behind appointing an interim Director General of Police in the state without consulting the Union Public Service Commission, as mandated by the apex court in July 2018, officials said.
Standing counsel for the state, Shoeb Alam mentioned about the application before Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra, they said.
J&K Can’t Be Left Headless for Even a Minute
In its application, the state informed the apex court that Jammu and Kashmir police, which has been fighting militancy for the last three decades, cannot be left headless for “even a minute”, and therefore, the decision was taken by the administration on Thursday night.
In July, the top court had taken note of an application filed by the Centre in which it claimed that certain states have been appointing acting police chiefs and making them permanent just before the date of their superannuation to enable them get the benefit of an additional two-year tenure till the age of 62 years.
A bench including Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices AM Khanwilkar and DY Chandrachud, then, passed a slew of directions for appointment of state police chiefs.
“None of the states shall ever conceive of the idea of appointing any person on the post of Director General of Police on acting basis, for there is no concept of acting Director General of Police.”SC Bench
Chronicling the steps to being taken for appointment of the police chiefs, the apex court had said, "All the states shall send their proposals in anticipation of the vacancies to the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) well in time, at least three months prior to the date of retirement of the incumbent on the post of Director General of Police".
It said the UPSC shall then prepare a panel as per the earlier directions of the court and send it to the states, which in turn shall immediately appoint one of the persons from that list.
"An endeavour has to be made by all concerned to see that the person who was selected and appointed as the DGP continues despite his date of superannuation," the bench said, adding that the extended term beyond the date of superannuation should be a reasonable period.
Ousted DGP SP Vaid told ANI that this is a part of the job, replying to a question on whether his transfer was unexpected.
It’s part of the government job. One works as a government servant... It’s their prerogative. I would enjoy the next posting also.SP Vaid to ANI
Hours after the announcement, Vaid on Twitter expressed his gratitude to the Jammu and Kashmir police, security agencies and the people of J&K for “their support and their faith” in him, and conveyed his wishes to the new DGP. He also appealed for an end to the "cycle of death" in the Valley.
The official order to this effect was issued on 6 September 2018 by Principal Secretary, Home, RK Goyal.
The government order comes as a part of reshuffle of the state’s top-level police officers. Just two days earlier, on 4 September, Vaid’s deputy Abdul Gani Mir was replaced by Dr B Srinivas as the new Additional Director General of CID.
The transfer of officials comes a week after terrorists abducted 12 relatives of police officers in south Kashmir. They were all released unharmed, but only after the father of a top Hizbul Mujahideen was released. This incident is speculated to be one of the reasons behind Vaid's ouster.
According to media reports, the relationship between Vaid and the state administration under Governor's rule had become strained recently. The former DGP's stance regarding the Kathua case also widened his rift with the BJP, an NDTV report said citing sources.
On 4 September, Vaid tweeted that the state police has been fighting a proxy war for decades and it required courage and determination.
Vaid, a 1986-batch IPS officer, was appointed as the Director General of Police in December 2016. He was due to retire in October next year.
Who Is Dilbagh Singh?
Dilbagh Singh, who has been made the in-charge Director General of Police, is a 1987-batch officer. He was made the head of the prison department in March after the infamous escape of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorist Naved Jhatt while the latter was on a routine health check-up at a city hospital in February, reported PTI.
Singh, during his tenure as Director General of Prisons, streamlined many things, including the removal of hardened terrorists from Kashmir jails, reported PTI.
He will have a regular appointment only after his name is cleared by the UPSC.
According to PTI, some more orders are likely to come, in which Arun Chaudhury is likely to be appointed as the Director General of Prisons, and SJM Gilani as the Additional Director General of the Jammu and Kashmir Armed Police.
Notably, Dilbagh Singh faced suspension as the Deputy Inspector General of Anantnag in 2000 for his alleged involvement in a recruitment scam, reported NDTV.
No Hurry to Change Vaid As Police Chief: Omar Abdullah
Former J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah hit out at the Governor-ruled state saying that there was no hurry to replace the police chief.
“He should have been changed only when a permanent arrangement had been worked out,” Abdullah tweeted.
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