IndiaPosted at: Sep 23 2026 10:36PM


Political executive must have confidence in key officers, but appointments cannot be politicised: SC told

New Delhi, Sept. 23 (UNI) The Supreme Court was told on Wednesday that the political executive headed by the Chief Minister should have confidence in officers holding key positions such as the Chief Secretary, Home Secretary and Director General of Police, but such political confidence could not translate into politicisation of the appointment process.
Seeking a direction to the Odisha government to disclose on affidavit the reasons for withdrawing the integrity certificate of Susanta Kumar Nath, a DGP-rank officer who was sought to be excluded from consideration for appointment as the State police chief, amicus curiae Raju Ramachandran told a bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V. Mohana, “Political executive should have confidence in the Chief Secretary, Home Secretary and the Director General of State Police, but political confidence cannot lead to politicisation of appointment process.”
Noting that Nath was one of the three DGP-rank officers in the State and did not face any disciplinary proceedings or criminal prosecution, the court asked Odisha Advocate General Pitambar Acharya whether Nath was named in the FIR registered in connection with alleged irregularities in the recruitment of Sub-Inspectors in the State police, which is being investigated by the CBI.
The query arose after advocate Prashant Bhushan referred to a union Home Ministry office memorandum and submitted that the integrity certificate of an All-India Service officer could be withheld only in specified circumstances, including suspension, disciplinary proceedings or criminal prosecution, none of which, he said, applied to Nath.
During Ramachandran’s submissions, Advocate General Acharya remarked that the amicus appeared to be arguing as though he represented the petitioner. Ramachandran strongly objected and offered to withdraw from the matter, saying that in his nearly 50 years at the Bar and in several assignments as amicus curiae, such an allegation had never been made against him.
Ramachandran referred to a paragraph in his note stating: “While it is correct that the State Govt. can withhold a certificate, the question of whether such action has been taken for cogent reasons and based on application of mind to relevant material can be examined by this Hon’ble Court.”
He then asked the Advocate General whether that amounted to speaking for the petitioner.
Resuming his inconclusive arguments from Tuesday, senior advocate P. Chidambaram described the move to exclude Nath from consideration as a “premeditated collusion between the government of Odisha and the Central government”.
He alleged that two Additional Directors General of Police were elevated as temporary ex-cadre officers so that they could enter the zone of consideration and later be absorbed against regular vacancies arising in August and December following the retirement of two incumbent DGP-rank officers on August 18 and December 1, 2026. This, he said, was coupled with the withdrawal of Nath’s integrity certificate.
The hearing will continue on Thursday, when the Odisha government is expected to respond.
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Tags: #Political executive must have confidence in key officers# but appointments cannot be politicised: SC told
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