DGP Full Form

The Police is a law enforcement agency that takes care of the violent activities and crimes that take place around us. The main aim of the Police is to fight such negligence of the people in our society. Hereby, it can be discerned as the most noticeable representative of the administration of a nation. In an hour where a citizen finds him/her helpless in situations of danger and crisis, the police are the most approachable option to all. The duties of the police are numerous, so to ease the task of maintaining peace, the government divides the police force into several categories, under several heads. One such category that comes under the police force is that of the Director-General of Police (DGP) which is clenched by the highest police officer appointed under the Indian police service. 

Who is DGP?

A Director-General of Police is the position in the police force clasped by the highest-ranking police officer in a nation. Typically, appointed by the cabinet, a DGP is competent in heading the way of an entire state or UT. 

How to become Director-General of Police?

Owned by one of the highest police officers, only an Indian Police Service officer is capable of grabbing such a position in the state. Initially, the main task is to clear the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) exam which is the first stage to get into the line of DGP. You might know how much difficulty this exam holds, so based on that you should think about how difficult it is, to grasp such a position in the police force. 

After the clearing of the examination, the person is posted into various fields of SP, ASP, DIG, ADDL DG and so on. Interestingly, the roles and obligations at the start of the service and till the end will be decided based on a merit exam. Officers are placed on a list according to their merits in the exam conducted by the National Police Academy. This is where your destiny is decided from the start, till the end. 

Selection of Police Officers from different Age-groups

One of the most difficult tasks to do is to select amongst the mixed population whether to choose a younger one or an older one for the post of DGP in the police services. The Government has also cleared us out of such confusion. Let’s take an example of a group of people who belong to the same batch. Also, we categorise this further and sort this into categories where some people have cleared the toughest exam of UPSC in their initial attempts, and some at later stages of their attempts. 

According to you, who will the cabinet choose for the post of Director-General of Police? Well, the answer to this is the younger ones in the lot whose name is on the merit list prepared by the National Police Academy. Older ones would have a later preference in front of the younger positions gatherers. Even if these people are older and senior than the younger ones, there is a problem that they might take up retirement at a very sooner date, as compared to the younger police officer who might take it at a later stage of his life. 

Appointment of a Director-General of Police: A Conflicted Undertaking

In the year 2006, the Supreme Court of India passed a judgement where it said that the duty of appointment of a DGP is in the hands of the state and UPSC. Nonetheless, the state has been trying to eradicate UPSC from this obligation and wants to take over fully on such a role. Initially, things started off when Manoj Malaviya was appointed as the acting DGP of the State of West Bengal. In this context, it was pointed out by Mamata Banerjee that the state should be solely responsible for the section of the DGP and not together with the UPSC. 

A conflict was made over this case mentioning that the Union Public Service Commission didn’t have any such expertise in the selection of the Director-General of Police. Besides, it was asked to base this responsibility exclusively on the hands of that state. All that was in vain, in the year 2018, the Supreme Court of India decided made a decision that the decisions of the state are based on the guidance of the UPSC which has proportional voting in the nomination of the Director-General of police.

Conclusion 

Sadly, we have failed to keep the forces of the police department and politics apart. The police department needs to have a separate role of function without any kind of interference that would also create political instability and pressures. Appointment challenges faced by the Supreme Court unnerve the morality of the public services and establish a perception of disruption in the council of police services in a nation. On the other hand, the decisions made by the Supreme Court also limit the powers of a political executive in a country. We should also take care of the fact that the police should remain an instrument of service to the people of a nation and not indulge themselves in any other activity.