The NGO, Centre for Public Interest Litigation, led by Prashant Bhushan, on Friday moved the Supreme Court challenging the appointment of Gujarat-cadre IPS officer Rakesh Asthana as Delhi Police Commissioner and the extension of his service by one year. The CPIL urged the apex court to direct the central government to produce the July 27 order it issued, approving the inter-cadre deputation of Asthana from Gujarat cadre to AGMUT cadre. The petition said that the Centre has totally violated the landmark Prakash Singh Judgment of Supreme Court on appointment of police chiefs.
The petition also urged the court to set aside the Centre's order to extend Asthana's service period. It termed the extension of his tenure as well as appointment as “illegal” as he did not have a residual tenure of mandatory six months of service at the time of his appointment as Commissioner of Police since he was to retire within 4 days.
The 1984-batch IPS officer, serving as the director general of Border Security Force, was appointed Delhi Police Commissioner on July 27, four days before his superannuation on July 31. He will have a tenure of one year as police chief of the national capital.
It said the orders passed by the central government and ACC on July 27 are “completely illegal“ as it violated the directions issued by the SC in the ‘Prakash Singh' case of 2006. The petition also claimed that the order violated the “Fundamental Rule 56(d)” which stipulates that that ‘no government servant shall be granted extension in service beyond the age of retirement of sixty years.'