Top cop appointment: SC asks Delhi HC to decide plea in two weeks
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday asked the Delhi High Court to decide preferably within a period of two weeks the plea pending before it challenging the appointment of senior IPS officer Rakesh Asthana as Delhi Police Commissioner even as the CJI-led bench, in its order, asked the Registry to list the plea before the "appropriate bench".
The 1984-batch IPS officer was shifted to the Union cadre from Gujarat cadre and appointed Commissioner on July 27 — four days before his superannuation on July 31 — for a tenure of one year.
A bench comprising Chief Justice NV Ramana and Justices DY Chandrachud and Surya Kant permitted NGO, 'Centre for Public Interest Litigation' (CPIL), to move the Delhi High Court to intervene in the pending plea against Asthana's appointment.
The bench said in its order, "We request the High Court of Delhi to consider hearing the Writ Petition.., which is pending adjudication before it, as early as possible and preferably within a period of two weeks from today to enable us to have the benefit of the Judgment of the said Court.
The bench kept the PIL of the NGO pending before itself by adjourning the hearing for two weeks and said, "The Registry is directed to list this matter after two weeks before an appropriate Bench.
At the outset, the CJI expressed his inability to hear the PIL saying, "I had expressed my views during the selection of CBI Director", when he had just months ago opposed Asthana's appointment as CBI Director at the high-powered selection panel meeting.
A Delhi High Court bench headed by Chief Justice D N Patel is seized of a PIL filed by an advocate challenging Asthana's appointment as Delhi Police Commissioner and extension of his service by one year and had listed it for hearing on September 24 after it was told by lawyer Prashant Bhushan that the plea of CPIL was listed for hearing in the apex court.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, for the Centre in SC, urged that the High Court be allowed to hear the matter.
