Supreme Court seeks response from Sikkim government, UPSC on plea challenging appointment of DGP

The Supreme Court on Wednesday sought the response of the Sikkim government and the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) on a plea challenging the appointment of the Director General of Police (DGP) in the State [Gagan Rai vs State of Sikkim and ors]..A Bench of Chief Justice of India NV Ramana and Justices JK Maheshwari and Hima Kohli issued notice in the matter and tagged it with a similar plea challenging the Bihar DGP's appointment. .The public interest litigation (PIL) petition, filed through advocate Satish Kumar, stated that the appointment of IPS officer Sudhakar Rao as the State's DGP was in violation of the Supreme Court decision in Prakash Singh.Rao was found guilty by a departmental enquiry headed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on charges of bribery, the plea said.Further, in violation of Supreme Court decisions, the vacancy for the post was not advertised and put for hiring on merit three months prior; instead Rao was given additional charge of the post, the plea added.This has been the case with all the recent appointments to the post, the plea contended. The petitioner, therefore, sought the following reliefs:A writ of certiorari setting aside Rao's appointment;A writ of mandamus directing the State and the UPSC to appoint DGPs in line with the Supreme Court decision in Prakash Singh;A writ of mandamus directing the UPSC to question the Sikkim government as and when such illegal appointments to the DGP post are made..The Supreme Court had in March this year sought the response of the State of Bihar on a plea challenging the appointment of SK Singhal as DGP.A three-judge bench of Chief Justice of India NV Ramana and Justices AS Bopanna and Hima Kohli had issued notice to the State on the PIL petition filed by one Narendra Kumar Dhiraj.The plea claimed that the appointment of Singhal as DGP was in complete violation of the 2006 judgment of the Supreme Court in Prakash Singh vs Union of India..The Supreme Court had in March last year stated that its landmark 2006 judgment, which dealt with police reforms, is used periodically only as a mantra, to suit the occasion whenever it arises..[Read Order]