Who Will be Next UP Police Chief? A Look at the Probable Pool Amid Row Over Appointment of 3rd Acting DGP

The Uttar Pradesh government has appointed 1988-batch IPS officer Vijaya Kumar as the state’s acting Director General of Police (DGP), the third straight temporary appointment to the top post in the country’s most populous state.

Vijaya Kumar, apart from holding the charge of DGP, will also hold additional charge of Director General (DG) Crime Branch (Criminal Investigation Department) and Director, Vigilance Department, UP Police.

Kumar succeeded Dr Raj Kumar Vishwakarma, who was the acting DGP since March 31, 2023. Vishwakarma also held the post of Chairman, UP Police Recruitment and Promotion Board.

Vishwakarma had taken charge from then acting DGP Devendra Singh Chauhan, who served for almost 11 months before his retirement. The Yogi Adityanath government had appointed Chauhan after removing 1987-batch officer Mukul Goel from the post of DGP, following charges of “inaction” and “lack of interest towards work”.

Goel, the last regular DGP in the state, is presently posted as DG, Civil Defence, and is due to retire in February 2024.

Who Will be UP’s Next DGP?

A government official told News18 on condition of anonymity that Vijaya Kumar is likely to remain acting DGP till his superannuation at the end of January 2024.

“The regular DGP would likely be named after Vijay Kumar’s superannuation,” the official said.

The UP government had forwarded the names of five officers belonging to the 1989-batch — Aditya Mishra, PV Ramasastry, Safi Ahsan Rizvi, Sandeep Salunke and Ashish Gupta. The 1990-batch has 14 officers who are in line for the police

Selection Criteria and Minimum Tenure

Senior officials in the UP Government said that, as per the norms, the DGP shall be selected by the state government from among the three senior-most officers of the department who have been empanelled for promotion to that rank by the Union Public Service Commission on the basis of their length of service, record and range of experience.

The selected officer should have a minimum tenure of at least two years irrespective of the date of superannuation. The DGP may, however, be relieved of responsibilities by the state government acting in consultation with the State Security Commission, consequent upon any action taken against the DGP under the All India Services (Discipline and Appeal) Rules or following conviction in a court of law in a criminal offence or in a case of corruption, or if the officer is otherwise incapacitated from discharging the duties.

Controversy Over Appointment of Acting DGP

Recently, a Delhi-based lawyer named Brajesh Singh had challenged the system of appointing acting DGPs, calling it a violation of Supreme Court’s order. In the contempt petition filed before the apex court, Singh challenged the appointment of acting DGPs in two states — UP and Punjab. It alleges that the back-to-back appointment of acting DGPs in UP is in complete violation of the apex court’s orders.

“In 2006, the Supreme Court had said, in one of its judgments, that there was no such “concept” of an “acting DGP”. Moreover, the apex court had stated that DGPs should have a minimum tenure of two years in office as it is necessary to protect the DGP office from political influences,” the petition states.