Plea challenging Asthana's appointment as Delhi Police chief filed in SC, HC informed

New Delhi, August 24

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The Delhi High Court was informed on Tuesday that a petition challenging the appointment of Gujarat-cadre IPS officer Rakesh Asthana as Delhi Police Commissioner has also been filed before the Supreme Court.

The submission was made in response to the high court’s August 18 query on whether any other plea concerning Asthana’s appointment is pending before any court.

The query was raised while hearing a petition by an advocate challenging Asthana’s appointment as Delhi Police Commissioner and extension of his service by one year.

At the outset, advocate Prashant Bhushan informed a bench of Chief Justice DN Patel and Justice Jyoti Singh that he had filed a petition on behalf of NGO Centre for Public Interest Litigation (CPIL) before the Supreme Court on August 10 challenging Asthana’s appointment and it is likely to come up for hearing on Wednesday.

“It is informed to this court that on very same appointment under challenge, already a writ petition has been preferred before the Supreme Court and the said matter is coming up for further hearing…,” the bench said while dictating the order.

To this, Additional Solicitor General Chetan Sharma, representing the Centre, said the plea had not yet been heard by the Supreme Court and it would be the first hearing on Wednesday.

“It is not before the court, it is before the registry. There is a marked distinction between the two,” he said, adding that they had not been served with the copy of the petition.

The Central government standing counsel Amit Mahajan said they are not aware of such a litigation. PTI