The Delhi high court rejected a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) challenging the appointment of Gujarat-cadre IPS Officer Rakesh Asthana as Delhi Police Commissioner. He was appointed to the top post by the home ministry through an order on July 27.
The petition had been filed by a lawyer named Sadre Alam. The petitioner had challenged Asthana’s appointment alleging, “The impugned orders (of MHA) are in clear and blatant breach of the directions passed by the Supreme Court of India in Prakash Singh case as respondent no.2 (Asthana) did not have a minimum residual tenure of six months; no UPSC panel was formed for appointment of Delhi Police Commissioner; and the criteria of having a minimum tenure of two years has been ignored”.
Rejecting the arguments made by Alam and CPIL, the High Court ruled out that there was no irregularity in the appointment process. It pointed out that the procedure adopted for Asthana’s appointment, where his tenure was extended, was being followed for nearly over a decade. The bench, led by Chief Justice DN Patel also said PILs cannot be permitted in matters related to service. It stated, “Any untoward incident in the national capital will have far reaching consequences, impact, repercussions and implications not only in India but also across the international borders”. The court further added, “Delhi, being the capital of India, has a unique, special and specific requirement. It has witnessed several untoward incidents and extremely challenging law and order situations/riots/crimes, which have an international implication, which in the wisdom of the central government necessitated appointment of an experienced officer possessing diverse and multifarious experience of heading a large para-military security force apart from other factors”.
