HYDERABAD: Justice Pulla Karthik of the Telangana High Court on Friday directed the Chairman of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) to initiate and complete the entire process for the appointment of the Director General of Police (Head of Police Force – HoPF), Telangana, within four weeks. The Court adjourned the writ petition to 5 February 2026 for reporting compliance with its directions.
The order was passed in a writ petition filed by T. Dhangopal Rao, challenging the appointment of B. Shivadhar Reddy, IPS, as DGP (HoPF). During the hearing, it was brought to the Court’s notice that the State Government had already forwarded a panel of eligible IPS officers from Telangana to the UPSC. However, the UPSC had returned the panel on 1 January 2026, stating that it could not be considered as it allegedly violated the guidelines laid down by the Supreme Court in Prakash Singh vs Union of India, which governs the procedure for the appointment of DGPs.
Notwithstanding the UPSC’s earlier position, Justice Pulla Karthik directed the Commission to proceed with and conclude the appointment process within the stipulated four-week period and to submit a compliance report to the Court.
The Court, however, declined to grant the interim relief sought by the petitioner. Interlocutory Application (IA) No. 5, filed by Dhangopal Rao seeking suspension of the Government Order (GO) through which B. Shivadhar Reddy was appointed as DGP (HoPF), was dismissed. The Judge observed that the issues raised in the application required detailed and extensive hearing and therefore did not warrant interim suspension at this stage.
With the dismissal of the interim application, the appointment of B. Shivadhar Reddy, IPS, as DGP (HoPF) will continue to remain in force, subject to the final outcome of the writ petition. The matter will be taken up next on 5 February 2026 for compliance reporting by the UPSC.