Bhubaneswar, Oct 8: The much-awaited Supreme Court verdict in the Odisha DGP selection case could come today, October 8, as the matter has been listed amid continued scrutiny over the State’s process of selecting its police chief.

The case, filed in the long-running Prakash Singh police reforms matter, concerns the Odisha Government’s decision to alter the pool of officers considered for appointment as DGP. The Supreme Court had reserved its verdict on September 29 after concluding the hearing.

However, there remains uncertainty over whether the judgment will actually be pronounced today.

The Supreme Court had earlier indicated that the Odisha judgment was expected after the hearing of a similar Jharkhand DGP appointment matter.

That Jharkhand matter is scheduled to come up before a three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant, with Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana. The Centre has also recently challenged Jharkhand’s appointment of Tadasha Mishra as DGP, alleging violation of the Supreme Court’s directions governing the appointment of State police chiefs.

Since the Odisha case has already been heard and its verdict reserved, while the Jharkhand proceedings are yet to be concluded, the timing of the Odisha judgment remains uncertain.

What is the Odisha DGP case about?

The dispute arose after the Odisha Government did not proceed with the appointment of a DGP from the three senior cadre IPS officers recommended by the UPSC.

The State subsequently created temporary ex-cadre DGP posts and expanded the pool of officers being considered for the top police post. It later sent a fresh list of eight names to the UPSC.

During the hearing, the Supreme Court questioned the need for creating an ex-cadre post and adding more names when the UPSC had already recommended three eligible cadre officers under the Prakash Singh guidelines.

The State Government, represented by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta and Odisha Advocate General Pitambar Acharya, defended the decision, arguing that expanding the pool would provide a wider choice of suitable officers and that the process complied with the relevant Ministry of Home Affairs parameters and Supreme Court guidelines.

The hearing also examined the exclusion of senior IPS officer Sushant Kumar Nath from the selection process.

His integrity certificate had been withdrawn by the State, a move that became one of the issues under scrutiny. The matter was raised before the Supreme Court during the proceedings on the DGP selection process.

The case has also involved questions regarding the role of the UPSC, the eligibility of officers and the manner in which the panel for the State police chief should be prepared.

What happens next?

For now, the key question is whether the Supreme Court will pronounce its reserved verdict in the Odisha DGP case today or wait until proceedings in the related Jharkhand matter are completed.

The Odisha case has already undergone multiple hearings, and the final decision is expected to settle the legal challenge over the State’s DGP selection process and clarify the extent to which States must follow the procedure laid down in the Prakash Singh judgment.