Supreme Court Agrees to Hear Plea on Jharkhand DGP Appointment

New Delhi – The Supreme Court on Thursday agreed to urgently list a petition challenging the appointment of Anurag Gupta as the Director General of Police (DGP) of Jharkhand.

The matter was mentioned by senior advocate Anjana Prakash Gupta, following which Chief Justice of India B.R. Gavai assured that the case would be taken up next week by a three-judge Bench.

The petition argues that Gupta’s appointment violates the Supreme Court’s 2006 ruling in the Prakash Singh vs Union of India case. That ruling mandates that the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) must recommend three eligible IPS officers with clean records and adequate service tenure, from which the state must select one for the DGP post, with a fixed minimum term of two years.

However, the plea states that Anurag Gupta’s name was not on the UPSC’s recommended list. Instead, the state allegedly modified existing rules to appoint Gupta, who was originally set to retire in April 2025, and extended his service until April 2026.

The Union Home Ministry, in a letter to the Jharkhand government, clarified that Gupta, having reached the age of 60 in April 2025, is considered retired under the All India Services (AIS) rules and thus ineligible to continue in service.

Leader of the Opposition and BJP state president Babulal Marandi has alleged that Gupta is a controversial figure who was previously suspended for two years due to election-related misconduct. Marandi has also filed a contempt petition in the Jharkhand High Court against Gupta’s appointment, citing violations of Supreme Court guidelines and UPSC procedures.

In a previous order on June 16, the Jharkhand High Court allowed the state government and other parties additional time to file their responses. Notably, the Hemant Soren-led state government had earlier removed former DGP Ajay Kumar Singh before the completion of his tenure. Singh was appointed on February 14, 2023, and was to serve until February 2025.

With inputs from IANS