The State government on Thursday rejected the application of V. Dinesh Reddy to continue as the Director General of Police beyond September 30 when he will attain the date of superannuation in view of the ongoing inquiry against him by the Central Bureau of Investigation into allegations that he acquired assets disproportionate to his known sources of income.
The government conveyed its decision to the Central Administrative Tribunal which Mr. Reddy moved as there was no response to his representation since August 21.
After a special government pleader in the Advocate General’s office communicated the decision to a two-member bench of CAT comprising P. Swaroop Reddy and P.K. Basu, the CAT closed Mr. Reddy’s petition as “disposed” but he immediately filed an appeal in the same tribunal in the evening. This petition has been listed for hearing on Friday morning. The government also rejected the contention of Mr. Reddy that he had one more year of service left as per the directions of the Supreme Court in 2006. In the memo submitted to CAT, the government said that Mr. Reddy had to retire on attaining the age of 60 years by this month-end since an interlocutory application against a fixed term of two years to the DGP was pending in the Supreme Court. Mr. Reddy had sought two years since his reappointment in the post in September last year.
The government recalled that the CBI had been asked to submit the status report on the disproportionate assets case against Mr. Reddy to the Supreme Court within four months (by January). Mr. Reddy was appointed as DGP in June 2011 but it was set aside by the CAT in June last year. The High Court upheld the CAT order after the government appealed against it with a direction that one of the three senior most officers empanelled by the Union Public Service Commission be appointed to the post as per Supreme Court directions. Hence, Mr. Reddy continued in the post as in-charge till his re-appointment in consultation with UPSC in September last year.
The intent of Supreme Court in its order had been to provide a stable tenure of two years for DGP, the government said but Mr. Reddy was DGP for 27 months in two spells. However, Mr. Reddy in his appeal to the CAT again desired that the government memo be treated as “arbitrary, illegal, extraneous and violative of Supreme Court directions.” He should be continued as DGP for two years from September last year, irrespective of his age.
