Sir,
In a surprise move, senior and honest IPS officer Rajendra Prasad Sharma took over as the new DGP replacing KB Singh who was unceremoniously removed from the post. Sanjeev Marik, who was made DGP in July 2014 under similar circumstances, was apparently asked to go on leave after the 1981-batch top cop lost confidence of the State Government for allegedly giving protection to a suspended IPS officer and for ordering transfer of about 50 top mid-rung officers without taking the Government into confidence. Prakash Mishra too was removed unceremoniously after he reportedly antagonised the ruling establishment with his strict and upright way of functioning. It may be recalled that during the year 2006, the Supreme Court ruled in the Prakash Singh case that the chief of a State police force should have a fixed tenure of at least two years. Despite this, the State Governments have failed to protect Directors General of Police from arbitrary transfers. In the event of a regime change following an election, new political dispensations assume that they have an unfettered right to reshuffle officers in the civil and police services. Rarely has this assumption been challenged. The Supreme Court’s ruling reinstating TP Senkumar, who was replaced as head of the Kerala police soon after the left Democratic Front assumed office last year, reinforces its 2006 judgment. It limits significantly the discretion enjoyed by the political executive in effecting transfers at whim. Expanding on the import of the Prakash Singh verdict, the court had given directions to insulate the police from external pressure and political influence. No longer is it valid for the Government to justify a DGP’s removal on the vague ground that it has reached a prima facie conclusion that the public is unhappy with the efficiency of the force. The Government’s ‘subjective satisfaction’ about the state of affairs must be based on “cogent and rational material”, the court has ruled. The State Governments would do well to implement the measures outlined in Prakash Singh case, the message of which was that the police must be answerable to the rule of law and not to political masters. In particular, every State should set up a State Security Commission to both guide the police and decide on top police appointments and transfers.
(K Ravi, E-237, GGP Colony, Bhubaneswar-751025,M-9437616497)