Clean chit: Will Bidari return?

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With the Supreme Court on Tuesday staying the Karnataka High Court order, which had quashed the appointment of Mr. Shankar M. Bidari as the director general and inspector general of police, there’s confusion on who will be the police chief until the time the court disposes of the matter. The senior-most IPS officer of 1977 batch – Mr. A.R. Infant – is presently holding the concurrent charge as the DG&IGP.

The apex court, while staying the High Court’s March 30 order, said the latter had passed the impugned order on assumptions without going into the findings of the Justice Sadashiva Commission and National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), which, according to Mr. Bidari, had given him a clean chit in the case of alleged atrocities perpetrated by the Karnataka-Tamil Nadu special task force on villagers and tribal women.

Since the Supreme Court has stayed, and not set aside the High Court order, the government may not immediately reinstate Mr. Bidari as DG&IGP. They might wait for the High Court to review its previous order, which under the direction of the apex court, should be disposed of before May 31— the day on which both Mr. Bidari and Mr. Infant retire.

Sources said the government may expedite the appointment of the next police chief, which is in any case due at the end of next month, and send the names of the officers of the rank of DGP to the Union Public Service Commission for being empanelled. This would pave the way for an early appointment of the next senior-most IPS officer, of 1977 batch – Mr. Lalrokhuma Pachau, who is currently holding the post of the DGP, Mizoram. Mr. Pachau belongs to Karnataka cadre; his last posting in the state was in 2006 as the additional director general of police, Lokayukta. He has a long tenure and is due for retirement only in 2015.

“The government may even immediately give concurrent charge of the DG&IGP to Mr. Pachau pending the UPSC empanelment and regular appointment to end the controversy between the warring police chiefs,” said an official source. The other officers in the consideration for the appointment of DG&IGP are – DGP, Training, Sushant Mahapatra of 1979 batch, DGP, CID, Rupak Kumar Dutta and DGP, Research & Restructuring, Dharwad, B.E. Umapathi of 1981.