BHUBANESWAR: The Union Public Service Commission’s (UPSC) empanelment committee convened on Friday to shortlist three senior IPS officers for the post of Odisha’s next Director General of Police (DGP) at New Delhi but sources said the meeting remained inconclusive and the decision, deferred.
As per the Supreme Court-mandated process, the UPSC prepares a panel of three eligible officers from names submitted by the state after which the government selects the DGP.
In May, the state government had sent a list of 11 senior IPS officers to the UPSC. It featured three DG-ranked officers including Fire Services chief Sudhansu Sarangi of 1990 batch and two 1993 batch officers - director intelligence RP Koche and DG (prisons) Susanta Nath. The rest are ADG-rank officers.
Sources said the state reportedly apprised the panel on the day that it was planning to withdraw the integrity certificate of one of the three DG ranked officers. An integrity certificate can be withdrawn or withheld by the government in case of material facts or proceedings emerging against an officer. However, it was not known why the certificate was not considered when the list was being drawn up by the government.
Sources indicated the meeting concluded without a final decision on the three names, leaving the process incomplete as of now.
The empanelment committee comprises a UPSC member, a representative of the Ministry of Home Affairs, head of a central police organisation not from the Odisha cadre, the state chief secretary and the outgoing DGP.
With incumbent DGP YB Khurania set to retire on August 16, it is unlikely that the UPSC panel can be convened within the next 10 days to take a call. This could mean the government may have to name an acting-DGP until the empanelment committee meets again to finalise the three names.
The Supreme Court judgement in the Prakash Singh case mandates that the state has to select the DGP from amongst three senior-most officers of the department from the panel prepared by the UPSC. The apex court was also against appointment of DGP on acting basis.
