Delhi High Court allows IPS Kuldip Sharma to be promoted

The Delhi High Court on Friday allowed the central government's plea to promote controversial IPS officer Kuldip Sharma, whose annual confidential report (ACR) was allegedly downgraded by Gujarat's Narendra Modi-led government, to the rank of director general of police.

A division bench of Justice Badar Durrez Ahmed and Justice Siddharth Mridul, while allowing the government to promote Sharma, however, said his promotion would be subject to final orders passed in the main writ petition.

The order came on a appeal by the Gujarat government that had moved the high court challenging the Delhi Central Administrative Tribunal's (CAT) order, which allowed Sharma's deputation in the central government. Paving the way for his promotion, CAT raised his grading in the annual confidential report.

CAT had overruled Gujarat government's decision to downgrade Sharma's annual confidential report from 'excellent' to 'very good'. CAT had also quashed Gujarat government's objection to Sharma's deputation on grounds of pending inquiry against him.

Sharma, a Gujarat cadre officer, is currently on deputation at the Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPRD) in Delhi.