Bangalore: Central Tribunal Strikes Down Appointment of Shankar Bidari as DG-IGP

Bangalore, Mar 16 (PTI): The Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) today set aside the appointment of senior IPS officer Shankar Bidari as Director General and Inspector General of Police of Karnataka, allowing a petition by Director General, Home Guards, A R Infant, who contended his seniority was overlooked.

A CAT bench comprising K B Suresh and Leena Mehandale held the appointment of Bidari as "void" as some material against him (Bidari) was deliberately withheld by the state government.

Infant, the senior most IPS officer in the state belonging to the 1977 batch, had approached the tribunal in December, 2011, challenging the appointment of Bidari, a 1978 batch officer, as DGP and IG.

The tribunal directed the state government to resend names and profiles of candidates afresh to the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) along with all requisite material for empanelment and select the DGP and IG from it.

In the interim, the CAT directed that Infant be made the adhoc DGP and IG. The state government and Bidari immediately filed an application for a stay of the order, which was rejected.

Reacting to the verdict, Infant told PTI "More than a personal victory, it is a victory for the IPS cadre".