New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday junked appeals challenging the Punjab and Haryana High Court order upholding the appointment of Dinkar Gupta as the state Director General of Police.
A bench headed by Justice L Nageswara Rao dismissed the appeals filed by IPS officers Siddharth Chattopadhyay and Mohammad Mustafa, who challenged the order appointing Gupta as the Punjab DGP. "The appeals are dismissed," the bench also comprising Justices B R Gavai and B V Nagarathna said.
The apex court had reserved its order on the appeals after hearing all the parties on September 15. Senior IPS officer Iqbal Preet Singh Sahota has been given the additional charge of the Punjab DGP after Gupta, a 1987 batch IPS officer, proceeded on leave. The Punjab and Haryana High Court on January 21, 2020 had stayed the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) order that had set aside the appointment of senior IPS officer Gupta as the Punjab police chief.
A two-member bench of CAT had pronounced the order on an appeal by Mustafa and Chattopadhyaya, who had challenged Gupta's appointment on the grounds that they were "ignored" despite being senior to Gupta. The police officers also opposed the contention of the empanelment committee, which had sent a report to the UPSC, saying the officers lacked experience in core policing areas.
While Mustafa is a 1985 batch officer, Chattopadhyaya is a 1986 batch officer. Gupta is a 1987 batch officer. Gupta was appointed the DGP in 2019. He superseded five senior officers, including Mustafa and Chattopadhyaya. In his previous stint, Gupta was posted as the director general of police, (intelligence) Punjab.
