SC junks pleas against appointment of Punjab DGP Dinkar Gupta
Darpan News Desk IANS, 16 Nov, 2021 12:49 PM
New Delhi, Nov 16 (IANS) The Supreme Court on Tuesday junked petitions against the Punjab and Haryana High Court order, which upheld the appointment of Dinkar Gupta as Punjab Director General of Police.
A bench comprising Justices L. Nageswara Rao, Sanjiv Khanna and B.R. Gavai dismissed the petitions filed by IPS officers Siddharth Chattopadhyay and Mohammad Mustafa, challenging February 7, 2019, order appointing Gupta as the Punjab DGP.
The top court had reserved the order in the matter in September this year. The detailed judgment in the matter is expected to be uploaded on the top court's website later in the day.
Additional Solicitor General Aman Lekhi, representing the Union Public Service Commission had submitted that draft guidelines, 2009 were legal, binding and in conformity with the Prakash Singh judgment.
The counsel, representing Chattopadhyay, had argued that his client was considered unfit, since Suresh Arora, the then DGP being the ex officio member of the empanelment committee for the selection of the post of DGP had reason to be biased against him. Mustafa's counsel had argued that the appointment process for Gupta was tailor-made.
Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Tuesday said it is not correct to say that the third Covid wave will affect children as in the two waves till now children were relatively less infected.
Most experts believe India’s official toll of 414,000 dead was a vast undercount, but the government has dismissed those concerns. A report released Tuesday estimates excess deaths to be 3 million to 4.7 million between January 2020 and this June.
Rejecting all opposition to his elevation, Congress interim President Sonia Gandhi appointed Navjot Singh Sidhu as the party's new Punjab unit President along with four Working Presidents.
Calling the reports of alleged snooping on prominent citizens using Israeli Pegasus spyware as "baseless", the ruling BJP on Monday said there is not a single shred of evidence so far that links either the central government or the party to this controversy.
Congress MPs from both Houses had met on Sunday afternoon at Rajya Sabha member Pratap Singh Bajwa's residence to discuss the issues related to Punjab and sought an appointment with Gandhi.
Apart from reviewing the security arrangements in the national capital, the Delhi Police have also strengthened the security in and around the Red Fort ahead of the Independence Day.
