SC lets Dinesh Reddy stay in DGP race

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The Supreme Court on Friday did not bar the UPSC from considering the name of V. Dinesh Reddy even as it refused to stay the AP High Court order directing the state government to hold fresh selections for the post of DGP-head of the police force after quashing his appointment.

This newspaper had reported earlier that government sources were of the view that Mr Reddy could become DGP again even if the state government followed the court directive as he is the senior-most serving officer after Mr Umesh Kumar, who is currently under suspension.

Mr Gautam Kumar, another officer senior to Mr Reddy and who filed the plea, has tak-en voluntary retirement.

Mr Reddy’s appointment was earlier struck down by the Central Administrative Tribunal on the grounds that it had not followed the SC guidelines for appointment of state police chiefs. That ruling was upheld by the HC, which the government had appealed against.

Citing the special circumstances in the state, the AP government stated in its special leave petition bef-ore the SC that “any gap or void in the higher echelons of service and delays that may be caused in the appointment process would be too difficult to manage. The government has acted bonafide in making the appointment in question”.

The SC guidelines stipulate the state police chief’s post must be filled only from a UPSC-approved panel of senior-most officers, so as to insulate the force from extraneous influences. The UPSC selects the panel from a list of names forwarded by the state government.