A Jolt for Government

The Bombay High Court finally set aside the appointment of A. N. Roy as the Director General of Police of Maharashtra. It has also asked the government to appoint a new DGP within four weeks. However, the court has allowed the state to move Supreme Court against the order.

The ruling by the Bombay High Court has come after a petition was filed saying that Roy was promoted out of turn. The ruling is considered potent with far reaching consequences. The court observed that the whole selection procedure was based on irrelevant considerations, non-application of mind and arbitrarily.

 

Central Administrative Tribunal in Mumbai had in October 2008 dismissed government's claim that Roy was the most meritorious officer in Maharashtra and had asked it to appoint a new DGP.

The government now has to decide between S. S. Virk, J. D. Virkar and Suprakash Chakravarty, who had challenged Roy's appointment on the grounds that Roy had unduly superseded three other DGPs for the appointment on the top post. Virk, who is former Director General of Police, Punjab is most likely to succeed Roy.

Roy was appointed to state's top police post in February 2008. Chakravarti had filed an application before Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT), challenging the appointment on the ground that Roy superseded three other officers senior to him. The CAT had later held that while appointing Roy

as DGP, the state did not comply with the Supreme Court's directions in an earlier case. Both Roy and the State Government then challenged CAT's decision in the High Court. A Division Bench headed by Chief Justice Swatanter Kumar today upheld the CAT's order and termed Roy's appointment as contrary to the law.

Top Cop in Pune

Roy was Commissioner of Police, Pune during 2003 to 2004. Later on he became the Commissioner of Police, Mumbai. He had a 13 month tenure in the city and no major incident happened in his tenure. He had replaced P. S. Pasricha as CoP, Mumbai and subsequently as DGP, Maharashtra.

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