West Bengal has instituted a new system for appointing its top police official, the Director General of Police (DGP), effectively removing the Union Public Service Commission’s (UPSC) involvement in the selection process.
The state government’s revised regulations establish a selection committee, headed by a retired High Court judge and comprising the Chief Secretary, Home Secretary, and other high-ranking officials, to oversee the DGP’s appointment. This new procedure replaces the previous system where the state sent a list of senior Indian Police Service (IPS) officers to the UPSC, which then provided a shortlist of three candidates for the state government’s final selection.
Reportedly, this change is based on the principles of a 2006 Supreme Court ruling on police reforms, which originated from a petition by former Uttar Pradesh DGP Prakash Singh and advocated for independent state-level selection panels for DGP appointments.
These new rules could facilitate the formal two-year appointment of Rajeev Kumar as the permanent DGP. Kumar was appointed as the acting DGP in December 2023 but was later removed by the Election Commission during the elections. Following the elections, the Mamata Banerjee government reinstated him to the acting DGP position.
West Bengal joins other states like Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, and Jharkhand in altering their DGP appointment processes. Punjab’s AAP government passed an amendment bill in 2023 to modify its police act regarding DGP selections, which is currently under presidential consideration. Uttar Pradesh implemented similar new rules last year, and Jharkhand announced its intention to form a selection committee for its police chief in January.
