Overview
- In an interim order, the Central Administrative Tribunal directed the state to send a fresh panel to the UPSC by January 23, for an empanelment committee meeting by January 28 and a recommendation by January 29.
- The tribunal said the state must decide expeditiously on the UPSC panel and clarified that if an officer retiring on January 31 is chosen, the appointment decision must be made by that date.
- State officials say a panel was sent to the UPSC on January 21, with a fresh list reportedly dispatched after the tribunal’s directive.
- West Bengal has had no full-time DGP since December 2023, and acting DGP Rajeev Kumar, along with senior officers Ranvir Kumar and Rajesh Kumar, is scheduled to retire on January 31.
- The UPSC returned the earlier proposal on December 31, 2025, citing an 18-month delay and Supreme Court guidelines; the Attorney General advised there was no provision to condone such delay, and the CAT case—filed by IPS officer Rajesh Kumar—returns for hearing in March.