Former Delhi Police Commissioner BS Bassi has been appointed as a member of Union Public Service Commission on Tuesday. The former police chief’s name was cleared by the Government for the Constitutional post which conducts the civil services examination to select candidates for IAS and IPS among other services.
Bassi had a controversial tenure as the Delhi Police Commissioner with frequent run-ins with the AAP Government.
In his five-year tenure as a UPSC member, he will be entitled facilities at par with Minister of State at the Centre. Under the Constitution, a member of the UPSC can have a maximum of six years tenure or till he attains age of 65 years.
The Commission has a maximum strength of 10 members besides a Chairperson. A 1977 batch IPS officer of Arunachal Pradesh-Goa-Mizoram and Union Territories (AGMUT) cadre, Bassi retired as Delhi Police chief in February this year after completing 60 years.
Bassi’s tenure as Delhi Police Commissioner, especially towards the end, had come for criticism after the arrest of Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union (JNUSU) president Kanhaiya Kumar over sedition charge.
The UPSC is headed by a chairman besides maximum of ten members. With Bassi’s appointment, the Commission is in its full strength. Alka Sirohi, David R Syiemlieh, Manbir Singh, Former Navy Vice Chief D K Dewan, Vinay Mittal, Chhatar Singh, Prof Hem Chandra, Arvind Saxena and Prof Pradeep Kumar Joshi are other members of the UPSC, headed by Deepak Gupta as its Chairman.
The members to the Commission are mainly experts drawn from various streams which included the IAS, IPS and other All India services.
It had former CBI Director A P Singh as one of its member, representing the IPS. However, after his name was linked to controversial meat exporter Moin Qureshi, he tendered his resignation in January 2015.