The Centre on Wednesday, 5 January, told the Supreme Court that there was a "compelling need" to appoint Rakesh Asthana as the Delhi Police Commissioner, given the law and order situation in the national capital.
Citing public interest, the Centre in its affidavit said: "The prime consideration for the same was that the GNCT, being the capital of the country, has been witnessing diverse and extremely challenging situations of public order/law and order situation/policing issues, which have not only had national security implications but also international/cross-border implications."
"As such, a compelling need was felt by the central government to appoint a person as the head of the police force of Delhi, who had diverse and vast experience in heading a large police force in a large state, having diverse political as well as public order problem/experience in working and supervising Central Investigating Agency(s) as well as para-military forces," the Centre said.
The Centre filed the affidavit in response to two petitions by CPIL - one against the central government order appointing Asthana as the Delhi Police Commissioner, and the other, a special leave petition filed against the Delhi High Court's earlier judgment which rejected the challenge against Asthana's appointment.
The Delhi High Court, on 12 October, had dismissed the legal challenge to appoint Rakesh Asthana as Commissioner of the Delhi Police, saying that the petitioner had "not been able to make out a case calling for interference with the decision of the government or even remotely demonstrated that there is any blot in the service career of [Asthana], making him unsuitable for the post in question."
The petition in the Delhi HC had alleged that the appointment violated a Supreme Court order on police chief selections.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)