New Delhi: An unprecedented order transferring 31 police officers by the Additional Chief Secretary of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) has created unease among the police force over the administration department’s action in the Union Territory.
The reason being that the Deputy Superintendent rank officers were shifted and posted on orders of Additional Chief Secretary R.K. Goyal, instead of the Director General of Police (DGP). Making these decisions in the police department, until now, has been the prerogative of the DGP.
Following the order, dated 7 April, which was taken out reportedly without even consulting the police chief Dilbagh Singh, many senior police officers accused the government of “weakening the position of the police chief”, especially in a sensitive state like J&K and asked for the revocation of the order.
According to a source in the J&K administration, the decision was taken based on a February 2020 circular by then Chief Secretary B.V.R Subramaniyam, which said that appointments of first-level gazetted officers will be done by the UT administration.
The appointments and transfers of police officers were, however, been done by the DGP even after that.
“The police chief knows the strengths and weaknesses of the men on ground. He knows who is competent for which post as he deals with them on a daily basis and so it has always been his prerogative to make these appointments,” a senior police officer said.
“Especially in a region like J&K, which is so sensitive and has been battling terrorism for decades, how can officers in the administration, who have no idea about the men on the ground, take that call?”
ThePrint contacted Additional Secretary R.K. Goyal via calls and WhatsApp messages, but did not get a response. This report will be updated once a response is received. ThePrint also contacted DGP Dilbagh Singh, but he did not respond.
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‘Blow to DGP’s post, made him ineffective’
Former J&K DGPs said that this decision is a blow to the authority of the police chief and will weaken his authority.
“If a police chief doesn’t have the authority to pick his men, then how is he expected to enforce discipline and accountability? This will make his position very weak,” J&K ex- DGP S.P. Vaid told ThePrint.
Another retired police chief K. Rajendran said that this order would not only disturb the hierarchy in the police and demoralise, the force but also make the DGP’s post “ineffective”
“If the DGP is supposed to be held accountable for anything that goes wrong, then he should also have the powers to take decisions. He cannot just alone be held responsible for mishaps. No one understands his men better than a police chief. How can the chief be not consulted before making these appointments?” Rajendran contended.
He added that under J&K police rules, the authority to make these postings lies with the DGP.
“J&K is not a normal state with usual law and order problems. It is a very sensitive state and the DGP has to be at the forefront. Hence, he should be the person taking the call for all postings within the department,” he said.
Rajendran further said that the order has made the police chief’s position ineffective, has violated standard practice and would encourage “interference”. “This will not just affect the system but will result in undue interference by the government. This order needs to be revoked at the earliest,” he asserted.
‘Done once but retracted’
This is not the first time that the administration has taken out orders to post police officers. But the instances are rare.
According to former J&K police chief Ashok Bhan, it once happened in the 90s when Gurbachan Jagat was the DGP but the order was withdrawn after it was conveyed that this is against practice.
“J&K has been fighting terrorism for over three decades now, and the police have played a very important role in this fight. In the interest of the fight against terrorism, the position of the J&K DGP must be respected and the powers to make these appointments must lie with him. He knows best where his officers should be posted,” Bhan said. “This happened once in the 90s, but the order was withdrawn.”
A second senior officer said that if the DGP is not given the freedom to post men of his own department, it will lead to complete lack of faith in him.
“Why would his force have any faith in him if he doesn’t even have the power to post them. How will he be able to enforce any discipline without any authority? This is completely uncalled for and totally undermines the DG’s authority,” the officer said.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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