By Our Correspondent
BHUBANESWAR: Prakash Singh and Others Vs Union of India , PIL, Serial No-26 W.P© No-310/1996, Chief Justice of India , Justice Surya Kant to hear PIL challenging Odisha DGP Appointment on Thursday. The Court has fixed the hearing time at 10.30 am .
CJI Justice Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi, and Justice V Mohana will hear the matter. Senior Advocate Prashant Bhushan will appear for the Petitioners.
A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed in the Supreme Court challenging the Odisha government’s process for appointing the next DGP. It alleges that the state is trying to bypass the Supreme Court’s guidelines in the Prakash Singh case.
Senior Advocate P. Chidambaram had mentioned the matter before a bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V. Mohana.
The Court had agreed to list it for urgent hearing scheduled for the next day, 12 but it was listed for tomorrow Thursday.
The Odisha government withdrew earlier panels of officers sent to the UPSC.It is now attempting to promote Additional Director General (ADGP)-rank officers to the DG grade and include them in a fresh panel for UPSC consideration
This is claimed to violate the Prakash Singh directions, under which the DGP should normally be selected from among the senior-most eligible officers empanelled by the UPSC.
Sanjeeb Panda (1994-batch IPS, earlier ADG Anti-Naxal Operations) is the junior officer most clearly linked to these developments. He (along with batchmate Yeshwant Kumar Jethwa) was promoted to DG rank on 10 August 2026 with the approval of Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi. Reports indicate the state may now try to include such newly promoted officers in a revised list to the UPSC.
The incumbent DGP Y.B. Khurania is due to retire on 16 August 2026. The PIL focuses on alleged procedural irregularities and attempts to favour juniors over seniors (such as 1990-batch Sudhanshu Sarangi), rather than any personal charges against Panda.
The Supreme Court had indicated that the UPSC is expected to follow the Court’s earlier directions if any breach by the state is found.
