Mumbai: The Bombay High Court directed the Centre on Wednesday to take a reasoned decision on whether the tenure of Maharashtra Director General of Police (DGP) Dattatray Padsalgikar needed to be extended. Padsalgikar, who has been granted two short extensions of three months each in the past, will complete his tenure as DGP on February 28. The state’s proposal to grant him further extension, to enable him to serve as DGP for at least two years, is pending before the Centre.
A bench of Chief Justice Naresh Patil and Justice N M Jamdar questioned the Centre’s decision to grant him short-term extensions.They said considering the nature of a DGP’s job and his seniority, it is important the officer has a stable tenure.
The HC also noted that a previous Supreme Court judgment on a similar issue of extension of tenure suggested senior bureaucrats should serve in one post for at least two years to grant them some stability, and to enable them to take and implement decisions. “What is the purpose of such short extensions? What will an officer do in three months? Your DGP does not know whether he is going to be there next month, so how can he plan anything for the state,” it asked.
