The Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) scrapped a petition filed by the former Director General of Police (DGP) of Punjab, Mr. VK Bhawra (1987 batch IPS officer), challenging the appointment of Mr. Gaurav Yadav (1992 batch IPS officer) as the acting DGP of Punjab.
The contentious issue arose after Mr. Bhawra had taken leave for 60 days (in July 2022), during which the Government of Punjab appointed Mr. Yadav as the acting DGP. When Mr. Bhawra was set to resume service in September 2022, the government reassigned him to the post of Chairman of Punjab Police Housing Corporation in SAS Nagar while asking Mr. Yadav to continue service as the acting DGP further.
Upset by this, Mr. Bhawra approached the CAT, questioning the legality of the order. He cited a judgement of the Supreme Court and the Punjab Police Act 2007 and appealed that he be reinstated as the state DGP. He also questioned Mr. Yadav’s seniority pointing at other senior officers ranking higher than Mr. Yadav in the DGP seniority list. However, the CAT has upheld the appointment of Mr. Gaurav Yadav as the new DGP of Punjab.
