Supreme Court to Hear Centre Plea Against Jharkhand DGP Appointments

The Supreme Court will hear a plea by the Union government accusing the State of Jharkhand of appointing Directors General of Police in defiance of top court orders issued over the past two decades. Chief Justice of India Surya Kant agreed to urgently hear the matter on Wednesday, following a request from Solicitor General Tushar Mehta to also list a related contempt petition for hearing. A Bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi, and Justice V. Mohana will hear the petitions.

Core Issues

The Union government, acting through the Home Ministry, has asked the court to declare the Jharkhand Regulation of 2025 for selecting and appointing its police chief as ultra vires. The Centre argues this state regulation violates the landmark 2006 Prakash Singh versus Union of India Supreme Court judgment, which set rules for transparent DGP appointments from senior empanelled officers and mandated a two-year minimum tenure to prevent political influence. The application specifically challenges the appointments of Anurag Gupta and Tadasha Mishra as Jharkhand DGPs under these 2025 regulations, calling the appointments legally infirm and contrary to specific court directions. The Centre wants the court to declare these appointments illegal and force Jharkhand to follow the Prakash Singh guidelines.

Context

Disputes over police chief appointments often arise between state governments and the Centre regarding adherence to judicial guidelines designed to keep police leadership independent of political control. The Prakash Singh judgment remains a key legal benchmark used to challenge state-level rules that bypass national transparency and tenure norms for top police posts.