UPSC, Punjab Government Issued Notice By Central Administrative Tribunal Over DGP Appointment

The Chandigarh bench of Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) has issued notices to Punjab government, Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), state director general of police (DGP) Dinkar Gupta, former DGP Suresh Arora and others seeking their reply on petitions challenging the appointment of the state police chief , reports Times of India.

The petition has been filed by DGP-rank officer Siddharth Chattopadhyaya. He is the second senior Punjab police officer to have opposed Gupta’s appointment. Prior to him, another DGP-rank officer Mohammad Mustafa had filed a petition against the decision.

According to the report, CAT has sought the reply by 27 March and arguments on the matter will take place on 5 April.

Chattopadhyaya, in his petition, has urged the CAT to summon the entire proceedings of the UPSC meeting. He reportedly claimed that former DGP Arora had vested interest in Gupta’s appointments as names of both surfaced in a report filed in the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

He has requested the CAT to summon Gupta’s records regarding his repatriation to Punjab from the Intelligence Bureau in 2012. The tribunal has also been requested by Chattopadhyaya to quash the 7 February order appointing Gupta as Punjab’s DGP.