The Director General of Police and Commandant General of Home Guards and Civil Defence, Fire and Emergency Services, MN Reddi has now approached the Supreme Court challenging the appointment of current Director General and Inspector General of Police of Karnataka, Neelamani N Raju.
In his petition to the Supreme Court, MN Reddi has requested the court to stay the government notification dated October 31, 2017, which appointed Neelamani Raju as DGP and IG of Karnataka. Reddi has requested the Apex Court to declare her appointment to the post as ad hoc, TNIE reported.
The report states that Reddi requested the court to grant an interim ex parte direction to the Karnataka government to prepare a roster of eligible officers for the post and send the same to the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC).
He has also requested the court to consider his case and appoint him as DGP and IGP of Karnataka during the time the Special Leave Petition is being heard.
Reddi has accused the former Siddaramaiah government of not adhering to the Supreme Court guidelines while appointing Neelamani Raju as the head of the police force in the state in November 2017. He has accused the former government of not sending a list of eligible officers to the UPSC before the decision was made.
According to The Hindu, in June this year, MN Reddi had moved the Karnataka High Court and filed a similar petition, seeking the removal of Neelamani Raju from her post. Reddi had stated that the Supreme Court in March 2019 clarified that IPS officers considered for the top post must have a minimum six months of service left. He stated that he would not be in the zone of consideration if a fresh appointment is not made at the earliest.
On June 24, the High Court division bench comprising Justice L Narayana Swamy and Justice R Devadas directed the matter to the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT). The CAT had rejected Reddi’s application on the matter last week. DGP and IG Neelamani Raju is a 1983 batch IPS officer and MN Reddi is second in line for the post of DGP and IG as he is from the 1984 batch.