Overview
- The Supreme Court on Thursday ordered the Union Public Service Commission not to finalise the Odisha DGP selection and to defer any meeting until the petition is heard on August 18.
- The PIL, argued by senior advocate P. Chidambaram and supported by amicus Raju Ramachandran, says Odisha sought to make ADG‑rank officers eligible through last‑minute promotions, in breach of the Prakash Singh guidelines.
- The state promoted 1994‑batch officers Sanjeeb Panda and Yeshwant Kumar Jethwa to DGP rank on August 10, a move critics say changed the seniority pool submitted for UPSC consideration.
- Officials have raised integrity concerns after the home department withheld an integrity certificate for DGP‑rank officer Susanta Kumar Nath following alleged adverse CBI feedback on a sub‑inspector recruitment probe.
- The dispute matters for police independence because Prakash Singh requires the state to pick a DGP from the three senior‑most empanelled officers and courts have stressed fixed minimum tenures, so the case could clarify how seniority, vetting and state promotions must work in future appointments.