The Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) has directed the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) to convene a meeting of the empanelment committee to finalise the names for the post of Director General of Police (DGP) in West Bengal.
The bench of Chairman Justice Ranjit More and Member (A) Rajinder Kashyap ordered the UPSC to prepare the panel on or before January 28 and forward it to the West Bengal government on or before January 29.
Upon receipt of the names, the West Bengal government should take an appropriate decision regarding the appointment of the DGP as expeditiously as possible. WB government is to first resubmit its proposal for empanelment on or before January 23.
The order was passed on a plea filed by IPS officer Dr Rajesh Kumar, who is currently posted as principal secretary with the State government.
He stated that the post of head of police force became vacant in December 2023 and the West Bengal government forwarded the proposal for empanelment in July 2025 but the UPSC failed to prepare the panel in accordance with the governing guidelines.
Senior Advocate Sanjoy Ghose, representing Kumar, submitted that the IPS officer is due to superannuate in January 31 and his right to be considered for appointment as the head of police force would be defeated in case of further delay.
In the order dated January 21, the tribunal noted that though the West Bengal government had forwarded the proposal late, Kumar had six months of service left when the State finally communicated the names of IPS officers to UPSC in July 2025.
“Respondent No. 1, however, convened the meeting only on 30.10.2025 and thereafter returned the proposal. We find no merit in the contention that proceeding with empanelment by respondent no. 1 (UPSC) would amount to contempt,” it said.
The tribunal also observed that during the pendency of empanelment proceedings, the rules of procedure could not have been changed by UPSC. The recruiting agency had stated that in case of delay in sending proposals, a State should first seek clarification from the Supreme Court.
However, the tribunal opined that any delay attributable to the West Bengal government cannot prejudice Kumar. Thus, it directed the UPSC and West Bengal government to conclude the appointment process before Kumar’s retirement date.
Senior Advocate Sanjoy Ghose with advocates Nipun Arora and Rohan Mandal appeared for Dr Rajesh Kumar.
Advocates RV Sinha, KK Sharma, Aman Sharma, Suryansh Singh, AS Singh, Shriya Sharma and Jyoti Garg appeared for UPSC.
Advocate Jalaj Agarwal appeared for the Union of India.
Senior Advocate AK Behera with advocates Madhumita Bhattacharjee, Debanjan Mandal, Kartikey Bhatt and Tanish Arora represented the West Bengal government.
[Read Order]