The state government in Uttar Pradesh, led by Yogi Adityanath, has decided to take over the appointment of the state's Director General of Police (DGP) as part of a major administrative decision ahead of the bye-elections, bypassing the upsc panel process.
This decision, cleared by the Cabinet in a late night meeting on Monday, means that the UP government will now independently choose the DGP, a choice till now made by the Centre.
A retired High Court judge is at the head of the committee formed by the Yogi government to select the DGP. It would consist of the Chief Secretary, a nominated member of UPSC, the Chairman of Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission or his nominee, Additional Chief Secretary/Principal Secretary (Home), and a retired DGP.
This too has a fixed tenure of two years for the DGP's post. After Punjab, the second state in the country is UP, which has adopted its own methodology in appointing DGP.
The last full-time DGP in UP, Mukul Goyal, was removed from service in May 2022. Since then, the state has been ruled by acting DGPs. Prashant Kumar may be appointed as the full-time DGP in the new system.
Earlier, UP had also followed the Centre's protocol that stated that the names of eligible officers — having at least 30 years of service in the police force and six months of tenure left — would be sent to the UPSC, which would then forward three candidates for the state's final selection.
Only those officers who are serving at the Director General of Police level and above in the pay matrix level 16 shall be eligible for DGP's position under the new system.
If any DGP is detected to be involved in criminal activity, corruption, or failing in discharge of duties, the state government has the authority to remove him/her even before the expiry of the term.
Any removal procedure, however, should adhere to the High Court guidelines as stated in the legal provisions relating to it.
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