The Delhi High Court is set to hear a petition from the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) on Tuesday, contesting a ruling from the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT). This ruling mandates the West Bengal government, led by Mamata Banerjee, to finalize the recruitment of a new Director General of Police (DGP) by January 31.

Despite the state government naming Peeyush Pandey as the successor to Rajeev Kumar, he has only been appointed as the acting DGP, not in a permanent capacity.

The court's decision is crucial as it will influence whether West Bengal will proceed to the important Assembly elections later this year with an acting or a permanent DGP.

On January 21, the CAT instructed the West Bengal government to submit proposals to the UPSC by January 23 for the empanelment necessary to appoint the new DGP, aiming for completion by January 31.

In response, the state government forwarded the names of eight serving Indian Police Service (IPS) officers to the UPSC for consideration last week.

Among these names was Rajeev Kumar, for whom the state has requested an extension of service to allow him to take on the DGP role.

However, complications arose when the UPSC challenged the CAT's order, creating further delays in the appointment process.

According to established protocol, the state government must provide a list of serving IPS officers for the DGP position, which the UPSC then reviews for final approval.

Tensions escalated when the UPSC returned the list of recommended officers from the West Bengal government, complicating the selection process for the new DGP.

Nand Kishor Kumar, the Director of All India Service at the UPSC, advised West Bengal's Chief Secretary, Nandini Chakraborty, to seek the Supreme Court's guidance for appointing Rajeev Kumar's successor.

This situation stems from the retirement of Manoj Malviya, Kumar's predecessor, in December 2023. Instead of submitting a panel of three IPS officers for UPSC clearance, the state opted to appoint Kumar as the Acting DGP.

Although the state has now sent a recommended panel of IPS officers, the UPSC rejected it, citing a Supreme Court ruling from July 2018. This ruling requires state governments to submit a panel for DGP appointments at least three months prior to the retirement of the current DGP, a timeline the West Bengal government failed to meet.

Thus, the state should have submitted the panel by September 2023, three months before Malviya's retirement.