Bhubaneswar, September 23: The Supreme Court will resume hearing on Thursday in the case concerning the selection of Odisha’s Director General of Police (DGP), after the matter was left midway on Wednesday.

A Bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, along with Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana, questioned whether the Odisha government was aware of the CBI’s request to examine senior IPS officer Susanta Kumar Nath when his name was included in the panel for DGP selection.

The State has withdrawn Nath’s integrity certificate following the CBI request and is preparing to send a fresh panel of IPS officers to the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC).

Justice Bagchi questioned whether the State should have informed the UPSC about the ongoing CBI probe before forwarding Nath’s name. The Bench also sought clarity on the sequence of events—particularly whether the government knew about the CBI’s request when it recommended Nath.

Senior Advocate Karuna Nundy, appearing for Nath, said the CBI case was registered in November 2025 and Nath was not named as an accused. She said the CBI only sought to examine him in his capacity as ex-officio chairman of the Odisha Police Recruitment Board.

Senior Advocate P. Chidambaram, representing a petitioner challenging the selection process, alleged “premeditated collusion” between the Odisha government and the Centre and questioned the withdrawal of Nath’s integrity certificate.

Other senior lawyers and Amicus Curiae Raju Ramachandran also questioned the creation of temporary posts and expansion of the zone of consideration, arguing that the process could undermine the principles laid down in thePrakash Singh judgment which laid down the policy for selection of DGP in the state.

The hearing will continue on Thursday, when the Odisha Advocate General is expected to respond to the Bench’s queries.