Bengaluru: In a significant development on Saturday, the Karnataka government issued a notification appointing senior Indian Police Service (IPS) officer, Dr. M A Saleem, as the full-time Director General and Inspector General of Police (DGP & IGP) of the state. The announcement comes after Dr. Saleem had been serving as the interim police chief following the retirement of his predecessor, Alok Mohan, on May 21, 2025.
Dr. Saleem’s Appointment Follows High Court Assurance
Dr. Saleem’s full-time appointment is the culmination of a legal process and public interest litigation (PIL) urging the state to appoint a regular DGP. The PIL, filed by Advocate Sudha Katwa, had questioned the delay in appointing a permanent police chief after Saleem’s interim appointment. The Karnataka High Court had earlier disposed of the PIL on August 28, 2025, after the state’s Advocate General assured that the state would issue a notice regarding the appointment of a permanent DGP once the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) finalized its list of eligible senior IPS officers.
Dr. M A Saleem’s Distinguished Career and Seniority
Dr. M A Saleem, 59, a 1993-batch IPS officer, has had a distinguished career within the Karnataka police force. In addition to his role as interim police chief, he has held concurrent charge of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of Karnataka. He is currently ranked third in seniority among DGPs in the state, following Praveen Sood (1982 batch) and Prashant Kumar Thakur (1992 batch). Dr. Saleem holds a PhD in “Traffic Management in Metropolitan Cities,” adding a scholarly dimension to his extensive law enforcement career.
Court’s Role in Ensuring Timely Appointment
The PIL sought the speedy completion of the appointment process for a regular police chief in line with the Supreme Court’s 1996 directives in the Prakash Singh case. The petitioners raised concerns about the delay in finalizing the empanelment of senior IPS officers by the UPSC. Karnataka’s Advocate General K Shashikiran Shetty informed the court that a meeting of the UPSC empanelment committee had been held on August 26, 2025, and that the state had urged the UPSC to send the finalized list of eligible candidates without delay. The court acknowledged the steps taken by the state and disposed of the PIL with the assurance that necessary actions would be completed soon.
Key Legal Developments
The PIL filed in the Karnataka High Court had also requested that Dr. Saleem be prohibited from assuming full duties as the DGP until a regular appointment was made. However, the court ruled that given the ongoing efforts to expedite the empanelment process, no further legal action was necessary. The state’s commitment to appoint a regular DGP was confirmed, and the matter was closed.
Future Directions for Karnataka’s Police Force
With Dr. M A Saleem now officially appointed as the permanent DGP & IGP of Karnataka, the state’s police force is expected to benefit from his leadership and experience. Dr. Saleem’s expertise in traffic management and law enforcement, combined with his seniority within the Karnataka police, positions him to tackle the growing challenges faced by the state’s police force, particularly in the realm of metropolitan law enforcement and urban policing.
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