Bhubaneswar, September 2: The Supreme Court on Tuesday deferred the hearing on the plea alleging that the Odisha Government attempted to bypass the prescribed procedure for appointing the Director General of Police (DGP) by forwarding an expanded panel of officers to UPSC, to September 7.

Meanwhile, the Amicus Curiae appointed to assist the Supreme Court has submitted his report in the case.

During an earlier hearing on August 18, the apex court deferred the hearing to September 2 after seeking the State’s response on record before proceeding with the matter.

The Odisha Government informed the bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V. Mohan, that the State had already filed its counter affidavit opposing the plea.

The State maintained that promotions of senior IPS officers are routine administrative matters and that it is within its powers to send a fresh proposal to the Union Public Service Commission comprising officers who meet the prescribed rank and eligibility criteria.

The Public Interest Litigation (PIL) was filed alleging that attempt was made to include comparatively junior officers in the pool of eligible candidates for the DGP post, in violation of the principles laid down by the Supreme Court in the landmark Prakash Singh case of 2006.

A key issue before the apex court is whether the Odisha Government complied with its earlier directions while preparing the list of eligible officers for appointment to the State's top police post.

Under the DGP selection process, the UPSC empanels three officers from among the eligible candidates and send it to the State Government for selection of DGP.

With the Amicus Curiae's report now before the Supreme Court, attention will be focused on the next hearing on September 7.