By Our Correspondent
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court of India is currently hearing a PIL challenging the Odisha government’s process for appointing the next Director General of Police (DGP), with the matter listed for final hearing on September 7, 2026 (no final decision was taken on the September 2 listing.
Incumbent DGP Y.B. Khurania retired on August 16, 2026. Vinaytosh Mishra (DGP, CID/Crime Branch) was given additional charge as acting DGP.
The dispute arises under the Supreme Court’s 2006 Prakash Singh judgment (and later clarifications) on police reforms. It requires the state DGP to be selected from a panel of the three senior-most eligible officers empanelled by the UPSC, based on length of service, record, and experience, with a minimum residual service of about six months.
A PIL (linked to the ongoing Prakash Singh matter) alleged that the Odisha government violated these guidelines by withdrawing an earlier list, promoting ADGPs (including Sanjeeb Panda and Y.K. Jethwa) to DGP rank, and seeking to include relatively junior/ineligible officers in a revised panel sent to the UPSC. Senior advocate P. Chidambaram appeared for the petitioner.
August 11–13, 2026: SC took up the matter urgently. It directed UPSC not to finalise any panel/decision on the Odisha DGP appointment and noted that “backdoor entry is not acceptable.” UPSC deferred.
August 18, 2026: Odisha government (via Solicitor General Tushar Mehta) and UPSC filed responses. The state defended the promotions as routine and claimed it followed the guidelines. The bench (CJI Surya Kant, Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana) deferred the hearing to September 2 so it could examine the state’s reply on record; interim restraints continued.
September 2, 2026: The matter (including an application seeking vacation of the interim order) was listed. No final hearing/decision took place; it has been listed for final hearing on September 7.
The case remains under active judicial scrutiny, with the interim bar on UPSC finalising the selection still in effect pending further orders
