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Mohd. Mustafa v. Union of India & Ors.

Civil Appeal · 2021 INSC 731Decided 16 Nov 2021
Civil Appeal No. 6905 of 2021
Justice L. Nageswara Rao · Justice Sanjiv Khanna · Justice B.R. Gavai

Background

Senior Punjab Police officers Mohd. Mustafa and Siddharth Chattopadhyaya challenged the 2019 appointment of Mr. Dinkar Gupta as Director General of Police (Head of Police Force) for Punjab, arguing that the selection process violated the Supreme Court's own earlier guidelines in Prakash Singh v. Union of India on how DGPs must be chosen. The Central Administrative Tribunal agreed and set aside the appointment, but the High Court reversed the Tribunal and upheld the selection, leading to these appeals before the Supreme Court.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court examined the selection process, including the criteria (seniority, service record, and range of experience) applied by the Union Public Service Commission's Empanelment Committee, and found no violation of the Prakash Singh guidelines. It also considered and rejected a separate argument that the selection process was tainted by bias, applying the settled test that a reasonable apprehension of bias must be judged from the perspective of a reasonable person, and noting that a belated bias objection weakens such a claim. Finding no error in the High Court's judgment upholding Mr. Dinkar Gupta's appointment, the Supreme Court dismissed both appeals.

Lesson Learnt

Courts give substantial weight to an expert selection committee's exercise of discretion in senior public appointments as long as it follows the settled legal framework, and objections based on bias carry far less weight when raised late in the process.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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