The apex court also ruled that any rule or state law on the subject of appointment of police officers "will be kept at abeyance"
The Supreme Court directed state governments not to appoint officers as acting police chiefs and laid out guidelines to be followed as part of police reform measures on Tuesday.
A bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra directed all the states to send names of senior police officers to the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) for being considered as probable candidates to be appointed as DGPs (Director General of Police) or Police Commissioners.
The UPSC will prepare a list of three most suitable officers and the states will be free to appoint one of them as police chief, the bench which also comprised A M Khanwilkar and DY Chandrachud said. The court said that the person selected and appointed as DGP should have a reasonable period of service left.
The apex court also ruled that any rule or state law on the subject of appointment of police officers "will be kept at abeyance". The bench, however, granted liberty to the states, which have made laws on police appointments, to move before it seeking modification of its order.
The directions came on a plea made by the Centre seeking modifications in the historic judgment in the Prakash Singh case on police reforms in 2006. The judgment had recommended steps such as a fixed two-year tenure for DGPs.
BJP leader Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay had sought urgent hearing on his interim plea saying the directions passed by the 2006 verdict have not been implemented by authorities concerned. Upadhyay has also sought the implementation of the Model Police Bill, 2006, which was drafted by a panel headed by former Attorney General Soli Sorabjee.
The apex court, deciding the PIL filed by two former DGPs Prakash Singh and N K Singh in 2006, had given a slew of directions, including setting up of a state security commission to ensure that the government does not exercise unwarranted influence on the police.
It had said the appointment of DGPs and police officers should be merit-based and transparent and officers like DGPs and Superintendent of Police (SP) should have a minimum fixed tenure of two years. The court had also recommended separation of investigation and law and order duties.
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