The Supreme Court issued contempt notices to eight states along with the Union Ministry of Home affairs (MHA) and Union Public Service Commision (UPSC) for appointing temporary DGPS despite the availability of eligible officers.
Rising Trend of Temporary DGP Appointments Across Several States
- States involved: Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Punjab, Bihar, Rajasthan and West Bengal.
- Issue raised: There is an increasing trend of state governments not appointing regular DGPs despite eligible officers being available.
- States’ Non-Compliance: Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Punjab have had temporary DGPs for over a year.
- Other states like Uttarakhand, Odisha, and West Bengal had temporary DGPs for months. Odisha appointed a regular DGP in August 2023, while Jharkhand appointed an acting DGP in July.
- Specific Case of UP: Uttar Pradesh, since May 2022, has had four acting DGPs, with the latest being Prashant Kumar, appointed despite being 19th in the seniority list.
About DGP
- DGP is the highest-ranking police officer in a state or union territory. DGP is also known as the State Police Chief.
- Roles and Responsibilities: Responsible for overseeing the state police force, implementing law and order, and coordinating with other agencies to maintain security and public safety
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Appointment Process of DGP
- Recommendation: State government recommends a senior police officer for the position of DGP to the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) or the State Public Service Commission (SPSC), depending on the state’s regulations.
- Selection Committee: Usually chaired by the Chief Minister or Home Minister.
- Review of Eligibility :UPSC or SPSC reviews the recommended officer’s eligibility based on criteria such as seniority, experience, and performance.
- Appointment Order: Once the candidate is approved, the state government issues an official appointment order appointing the officer as the DGP.
Contempt of Court
- Constitutional provisions: When the Constitution was adopted, contempt of court was made one of the restrictions on freedom of speech and expression under Article 19 (2) of the Constitution of India.
- Article 129 of the Constitution conferred on the Supreme Court the power to punish contempt of itself.
- Article 215 conferred a corresponding power on the High Courts.
- Statutory Backing: A committee was set up in 1961 under the chairmanship of the late H N Sanyal, the then additional solicitor general.
- He made a comprehensive examination of the law and problems relating to contempt of court in the light of the position obtained in our own country and various foreign countries
- On his recommendation Contempt of Courts Act, 1971 was passed which gives statutory backing to the idea.
- Kinds of Contempt of Court: According to the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971, Contempt of court can either be
- Civil Contempt : It is the wilful disobedience to any judgment, decree, direction, order, writ or other process of a court or wilful breach of an undertaking given to a court.
- Criminal Contempt: It is the publication of any matter or the doing of any other act which scandalizes or lowers the authority of any court, or interferes with the due course of any judicial proceeding, or obstructs the administration of justice in any other manner.
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October 17, 2024
