NEW DELHI: Noting that IPS officer Rakesh Asthana’s tenure as Delhi Police Commissioner has come to an end, the Supreme Court on Monday disposed of pleas that had challenged his appointment. The plea filed by the Centre for Public Interest Litigation challenging his appointment was disposed of by the bench of CJI DY Chandrachud, Justices PS Narasimha and JB Pardiwala.
Asthana, a 1984-batch Gujarat cadre IPS Officer, was appointed as Delhi Police Commissioner on July 27, 2021, just four days before he was scheduled to retire from service. His appointment was challenged by CPIL on the ground that the appointment order is in clear and blatant breach of the directions passed by Apex Court in the judgement in Prakash Singh and Others v. Union of India.
It was also stated in the plea that Asthana did not have a minimum residual tenure of six months and that no UPSC panel was formed for the appointment of the Delhi Police Commissioner. While dismissing the
plea of the Centre for Public Interest Litigation, the Delhi High Court had said the Supreme Court’s decision in the Prakash Singh case, which mandated a minimum tenure for certain police officials and the constitution of a UPSC panel before selection, was not applicable to the appointment of the Police Commissioner for Delhi.