HC upholds order calling DGP's appointment illegal

The Maharashtra government faced embarrassment today after the Bombay High Court upheld a Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) order terming the appointment of Director General of Police (DGP) AN Roy as illegal.

The tribunal’s order was challenged by Roy and the state government in the high court. However, quashing both the writ petitions, a Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Swatantra Kumar and Justice SV Bobade observed that Roy’s appointment was a mindless act on the part of government.

It may be recalled that after the 26/11 terror attacks in Mumbai, the opposition parties had targeted Roy and Mumbai Police Commissioner Hasan Gafur and sought their removal. Suprakash Chakravarthy, director general of the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), had filed an application in the tribunal challenging the appointment on the grounds that Roy superseded three officers senior to him.

“The entire decision-making process and the decision of the state government has been taken with undue haste and is not in conformity with accepted administrative norms”, the court observed.