Complications galore over DGP's appointment in West Bengal

Kolkata, Jan 6 As the tenure of the current West Bengal Director General of Police, Rajeev Kumar, is scheduled to end on January 31, complications surfaced over the appointment of his successor.

The Director (All India Service) of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), Nand Kishor Kumar, advised the West Bengal Chief Secretary, Nandini Chakraborty, to approach the Supreme Court and get the necessary clearance for the appointment of Rajeev Kumar's successor.

The UPSC had also returned the list of Indian Police Services (I.P.S.) officers recommended by the West Bengal government for the selection of any one of them as the new DGP.

As per protocol, the state government is supposed to send a list of three serving IPS officers in the state for appointment in the post of DGP, and the UPSC finally clears the appointment for one among the three officers.

The entire complication has its roots in the retirement of Rajeev Kumar's predecessor, Manoj Malviya, from the chair of DGP in December 2023.

Instead of sending the panel of three IPS officers then as Malviya's successor, the state government chose to appoint Rajeev Kumar as the acting Director General of Police.

Although the state government had sent the recommended panel of IPS officers as his successor, the UPSC declined to accept it.

In the letter to the West Bengal Chief Secretary from the Director (All India Service), a copy of which is available with IANS, the latter had pointed out as per a Supreme Court order in July 2018, any state government should send the recommended panel of I.P.S. officers for appointment as the new state DGP at least three months before the retirement of the sitting DGP.

Hence, going by that logic, the West Bengal government should have sent the recommended panel in September 2023, that is, three months before the retirement of Rajeev Kumar's predecessor, Manoj Malviya, who retired in December 2023.

In the letter to the Chief Secretary, the Director (All India Service) of UPSC had also informed that the Commission had taken the advice of the Attorney General of India in the matter, and the latter also recommended that the West Bengal government should approach the Supreme Court and get the necessary clearance from there for the appointment of Rajeev Kumar's successor.

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