Senior IPS Officer Approaches CAT Over Exclusion From Panel For DGP Post

According to the sources, the senior police officer informed the CAT that in July 2025, the State government had sent a list of ten eligible IPS officers (all of whom had over six months of service left) to the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC). 

However, the UPSC excluded three senior-most officers, citing that they no longer met the residual service requirement as of the meeting date. Officers with longer remaining tenure were recommended instead, a decision Kumar described as "unjust and discriminatory". In his plea, Kumar claimed that his name should have been considered among the top three eligible officers, based on seniority. He said that the omission had “no justification”, and that he had fulfilled all eligibility norms.

In his petition, Kumar claimed that he and two other senior officers, Rajiv Kumar and Ranveer Kumar, were “illegally removed” from the panel, despite them meeting the mandatory requirement of having more than six months of residual service, when the post of the DGP became vacant on December 27, 2023.

The case highlights ongoing tension over seniority and eligibility norms in high-level police appointments in West Bengal. A decision by the CAT could potentially influence future appointments and clarify the interpretation of residual service rules for DGP postings.