Challenge to Asthana’s appointment as Delhi Police chief: HC gives more time to govt to respond

Tribune News Service
New Delhi, September 8

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The Delhi High Court on Wednesday deferred hearing on a petition challenging the appointment of Gujarat Cadre IPS officer Rakesh Asthana as Delhi Police Commissioner after the Centre sought time to file its response.

A Bench led by Chief Justice DN Patel – which had on September 1 issued notices to the Centre and Asthana on a petition filed by Sadre Alam—granted time after Solicitor General Tushar made a request to this effect and posted the matter for further hearing on September 16.

It also issued a fresh notice to Asthana as it was not served to him due to want of payment of process fee by the petitioner.

A 1984-batch IPS officer from the Gujarat cadre, Asthana was the Director General of the Border Security Force (BSF) before being appointed as Delhi Police Commissioner.

Four days before his superannuation on July 31, the Appointments Committee of Cabinet appointed him as Delhi Police Commissioner. He will have a one-year tenure as Delhi Police chief.

The Centre for Public Interest Litigation (CPIL) — which has challenged Asthana’s appointment as the Delhi Police Commissioner before the Supreme Court – had earlier alleged that Alam’s petition was mala fide and a complete copy-paste of the NGO’s petition before the top court.

The Supreme Court had on August 25 asked the Delhi High Court to decide in two weeks the petition challenging Asthana’s appointment as Delhi Police Commissioner.

The top court said, “If the petitioner (CPIL) wants to file any intervention application in the matter pending before the High Court and/or to assist the said court, it would be at liberty to do so,” a Bench led by CJI NV Ramana had said.

CPIL had on August 6 moved the Supreme Court against the appointment of Asthana as Delhi Police Commissioner on the ground that the decision went against the court’s ruling on such appointments.

Advocate ML Sharma had also filed a similar petition in the top court seeking contempt action against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah for allegedly violating the court’s order in appointing Asthana as Delhi Police chief.

Thereafter, a separate petition was filed in the Delhi High Court against Asthana’s appointment as the Delhi Police chief.

The CPIL petition alleged that just four days before Asthana was due to superannuate on July 31, 2021, the Ministry of Home Affairs granted him an inter-cadre transfer from his parent cadre of Gujarat to the Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Mizoram other Union Territories including Delhi Cadre and gave him an extension of service for one year and appointed him as Delhi Police Commissioner.

The NGO alleged that both the orders passed by the central government and ACC on July 27 were “completely illegal” as they violated the top court’s directions in Prakash Singh’s case (2006) on police reforms.