VIJAY DEO JHA
Ranchi, Feb 4: A contempt petition has been filed in the Supreme Court against the Director-General of Jharkhand Police, Neeraj Sinha for overstaying to the post of the DGP after his superannuation on January 31.
The petitioner Rajesh Kumar has said that Neeraj Sinha retired on January 31 but despite this, he continues to hold this post due to the notification issued by the Jharkhand government to appoint him as DGP for the period of two years.
Delhi edition of Dainik Jagaran has reported the petitioner had approached the court.
Under this notification, he will retire in February next year. The petitioner said that the said notification of the government violated the law and the state government is repeatedly violating the court.
Rajesh Kumar has told the court that in September last year he had filed a petition in the matter related to the appointment of the DGP and had requested for early hearing.
The matter of the appointment of DGP in Jharkhand has been caught in the legal cobweb right after Kamal Nayan Choubey was removed from the post of the DGP.
Sinha, a 1987 batch IPS Sinha was elevated as DGP on February 11, 2021, by the Hemant Soren-led government. He replaced Vishnu Vardhan Rao whom the government shunted as DGP in-charge barely 11 months after he was picked for this coveted post.
A petition was filed at the Supreme Court when the Hemant Soren government removed 1986 batch IPS Kamal Nayan Choubey from the post of the DGP on March 16, 2020. He served only for nine months as the DGP after his appointment on May 31, 2019. In the light of the Supreme Court’s order in the Prakash Singh case, the then Raghubar Das-led BJP-Ajsu Party government had appointed Choubey for a period of two years in consultation with the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC).
In the meantime, the Jharkhand government which was understood to have decided to appoint Rao as the permanent DGP requested the UPSC to start the empanelment process. But the UPSC refused to do so till the matter of the removal was pending before the Supreme Court.
Sinha was first appointed as DGP in-charge. Later on, his appointment as the DGP for the period of two years was notified. This notification was challenged and a contempt petition was filed in the Supreme Court by Rajesh Kumar. The Supreme Court during the hearing had expressed displeasure over the appointment when the matter was pending.
Senior Jharkhand High Court Advocate R. S. Majumdar said that the Supreme Court has categorically defined the process of the appointment of the DGP in the Prakash Singh case which is related to the police reform.
“One should read the Supreme Court’s judgment in the Prakash Singh case to know if it applies in the present case or not,” said Majumdar.
