There are six months left for the retirement of Uttar Pradesh Police Chief Prashant Kumar, and till now no committee has been formed to select the DGP under the new rules. This means that acting DGP Prashant Kumar, who was being considered as the new DGP of the state, is now almost out of the race. Prashant Kumar was close to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and had an excellent track record, but his name not being included in the final selection has created a shocking situation.
The government has issued a new guideline for the appointment of permanent DGP in the state, in which the minimum tenure for the DGP has been fixed at six months. Additionally, the tenure of the DGP will be for a minimum of two years, or he will hold the post till the age of 60, whichever is earlier, now the eyes are on the IPS officers who are around 58 years and Whose track record is tremendous. According to sources, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is looking for an officer who is away from controversies and will give results.
Who will become the new DGP?
After the new guidelines, apart from Prashant Kumar, names of officers like PV Ramashastri and Aditya Mishra have also been out of the race. Now the question arises that who can be the first full-time DGP of UP?
In this context, names of some senior IPS officers like Ashish Gupta, Sandeep Salunke, BK Maurya, PC Meena and Abhay Kumar Prasad are in discussion, although these officers are not included in the list of trusted officers of the Chief Minister. Apart from this, names like Daljit Chaudhary, Alok Sharma and Piyush Anand are also coming forward, who are working in Central Services.
Can meet female DGP
There is also discussion that UP may get its first woman DGP. The names of Renuka Mishra and Tilotma Verma are also under consideration. However, the most likely name after Prashant Kumar is Rajeev Krishna. Rajeev Krishna is among the trusted officers of the Chief Minister and as per the new guidelines, his qualifications are fulfilled. His chances of becoming DGP are said to be high.
will be selected according to the new rules
Now the state government is free from the obligation of UPSC approval for the appointment of DGP. The DGP selection process will be conducted by a five-member committee, which will be headed by a retired High Court judge. The committee will include the Chief Secretary, an officer nominated by UPSC, Chairman of UP Public Service Commission or his nominee, Additional Chief Secretary or Principal Home Secretary, and a retired DGP.
Effect of new rules
Uttar Pradesh has become the fourth state, which has made new rules for DGP selection. According to this rule, the appointment of DGP will be done on the basis of service record and experience of the IPS officer. For selection, preference will be given to those officers who have at least six months of tenure left. Also, the DGP will be appointed for at least two years, but if the government is not satisfied with an officer, it can also remove him from the post.
Acting DGP for two and a half years
The post of permanent DGP in Uttar Pradesh is vacant for the last two and a half years. The police administration system of the state is running under the continuous tenure of four acting DGPs. DS Chauhan was appointed acting DGP after the removal of Mukul Goyal, who held the post till March 31, 2023. After this, RK Vishwakarma was made the acting DGP, who retired on 31 May 2023. Vijay Kumar was appointed acting DGP, who will retire on January 31, 2024. Then, Prashant Kumar was made the acting DGP.
What will happen on contempt in Supreme Court?
The Supreme Court had issued contempt notice to the Uttar Pradesh government in the appointment of DGP. However, on November 5, the Uttar Pradesh government announced new guidelines for the appointment of DGP. Now a hearing will be held in the Supreme Court on December 7, where the UP government will present its new guidelines before the court. It will be important to see what decision the Supreme Court takes in this matter and what is its stand on the committee formed for the DGP selection process.