The Supreme Court on Tuesday posted in May the hearing on a petition seeking initiation of contempt of court against the Jharkhand government for framing rules for constituting its own committee for shortlisting names for the appointment of the Director General of the State police in violation of 2006 directions of the top court in police reform case.

A bench of Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna, Justice Sanjay Kumar and Justice KV Viswanathan said matter will be heard in the week commencing May 5, 2025, as advocate Prashant Bhushan told the bench that “There has been rampant corruption in the appointment of police chiefs… rampant.”

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Pointing to what was happening in the States in the appointment of head of the State police, senior advocate Dushyant Dave told the bench that “a very serious situation is developing as every second state is taking law into their own hands on the appointment of a DGPs.”

The top court will also hear on the same day a plea seeking implementation of its 2006 verdict on police reforms that recommended steps like separation of investigation and law and order duties.

Advocate Prashant Bhushan appeared for the petitioner NGO Akhil Bharatiya Adimjanjati Bikas Samitee, Jharkhand that has approached the top court seeking contempt of court action against the Jharkhand government for framing its own procedure for the appointment of Director General pf State Police in violation of the slew of directions issued by the top court in 2006 in public interest plea (PIL) that came to be known as police reforms case.

The 2006 directions were issued on a petition by the former Director General of Uttar Pradesh police, Prakash Singh, seeking directions for insulating the functioning of police forces from political interference, streamlining the appointments and the working of the police force in the States. The 2006 directions included fixed tenure of the State police chief, separation of investigation and the law-and-order duties and other measures.

The petitioner NGO Akhil Bharatiya Adimjanjati Bikas Samitee, Jharkhand, has stated that the new rules framed by the State government for the selection of DGP completely disregarded the mandate of the top court as laid down in the Prakash Singh judgment and subsequent orders.

“By eliminating the requirement of sending nominations to the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) for empanelment, the state has directly contravened the guidelines that ensure transparency and merit-based appointments for the post of DGP,” states the petition by the NGO.

Under the new rules, framed by the Jharkhand government, the state government is no longer required to send nominations to the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) for preparing a panel for the appointing the head of the state police and the same will now be based on the recommendations of a Special Committee chaired by a retired High Court judge.

The new Rules provide for a Selection Committee to be headed by a retired judge of the State High Court and its members include the Public Service Commission (JPSC) Chairman or nominee, the Home Department’s Additional Chief Secretary or Principal Secretary and the retired DGP from the state.

Earlier, the state government used to send names of senior most IPS officers with at least 30 years of service to the UPSC, which would then prepare a panel of three names for the appointment of the DGP.

Seeking initiation of “contempt proceedings against the alleged contemnor/Respondent for wilfully and deliberately disobeying the judgments/orders, dated September 22, 2006, July 3, 2018 and March 13, 2019, passed by the Supreme Court in writ petition filed 1996,” the petitioner NGO has said that it was constrained to approach the top court as Jharkhand government has approved the Rules for appointment of DGP and these newly formulated Rules are in contravention with the directions mandated by the top court.

It has submitted, “The government has intentionally and deliberately framed the regulations to circumvent the Supreme Court order on minimum tenure of two years, keeping the post vacant by appointing acting DGPs and taking the vacancy as the date for considering eligibility in a bid to appoint officers close to political dispensation to the top post. The state had earlier removed Ajay Kumar Singh and appointed Anurag Gupta as acting DGP, and rules have now been put in place to reportedly appoint Anurag Gupta who is due to retire.”