The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Monday sought response of the State government to a public interest litigation (PIL) petition seeking the direction to the Central and the State governments to immediately initiate the process for empanelment of eligible IPS officers for the post of Director General of Police (DGP), Tamil Nadu.
A Division Bench of Justices S.M. Subramaniam and A.D. Maria Clete sought response from the State on the procedure it would be adopting. The court also sought response regarding the Supreme Court guidelines in the Prakash Singh v. Union of lndia case, Supreme Court clarifications to the directions, Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) guidelines and the Single Window System.
The court was hearing the PIL petition filed by K. Yasar Arafath of Paramakudi in Ramanathapuram district who sought appropriate directions regarding appointment of the Tamil Nadu DGP in compliance with the directions of the Supreme Court in Prakash Singh v. Union of lndia judgment.
The incumbent DGP Mr. Shankar Jiwal is set to retire on August 31. However, till date the State government has not taken steps to initiate the mandatory process of empaneling eligible IPS officers and forwarding the names to UPSC for preparation of a panel, as directed by the Supreme Court, he said.
He claimed there were credible reports indicating the possibility of appointing an in-charge or acting DGP or seeking an extension for the current DGP without following the prescribed process. It amounts to contempt of the directions laid down by the Supreme Court in the Prakash Singh case, which require a merit based transparent selection of the DGP from a panel prepared by the UPSC in consultation with the State government, he said.
The petitioner claimed in view of the upcoming Tamil Assembly Elections in 2026, the State government had planned to keep the Head of the Police Force as per their choice to get the support of the Police Department till the upcoming election.
The Supreme Court has taken a serious note of the violation of its directions by several States, including the appointment of in-charge DGP and expressed grave concern over the continued non-compliance, he said.
The petitioner sought a direction to restrain the State from appointing any officer as in-charge or acting DGP or granting extension to the retiring DGP, without following due process and UPSC panel recommendation pending disposal of the petition.
The failure of the authorities to comply with the binding judicial directions undermines the rule of law and the independence and the professionalism of the police force, which has serious consequences for public administration and governance, he said.
The court has ordered notice and posted the matter for hearing on August 11.
Published – August 05, 2025 12:36 am IST
