Punjab challenges CAT order to set aside DGP's appointment

Chandigarh, Jan 20 (IANS) Punjab government on Monday moved the Punjab and Haryana High Court against the decision of the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) that set aside the appointment of Director General of Police (DGP) Dinkar Gupta.Acting on submissions of the state and DGP's counsels, a division bench of Justice Rajiv Sharma and Justice Harinder Singh Sidhu allowed the listing of the case for hearing on Tuesday.The CAT on January 17 had set aside the appointment of Gupta as it allowed the application challenging his appointment by his seniors in service.Allowing the application filed by senior IPS officers Siddharth Chattopadhyay and Mohammad Mustafa, the tribunal asked the government to make the appointment as per the procedure laid out by the Supreme Court within four weeks.A 1987 batch Indian Police Services (IPS) officer, Gupta had superseded five senior officers to be named the state police chief on February 7, 2019.Mustafa and Chattopadhyay had challenged the government's decision in the tribunal, saying they were ignored for the post despite fulfilling the criterion.Besides them, the other officers are Hardeep Dhillon, Jasminder Singh and Samant Goel.
--IANS vg/arm