Chennai:
In a major embarrassment for the Tamil Nadu government, the Madras High Court has struck down upon its appointment of Latika Saran, the new Director General of Police (Law & Order), after a 1975 batch officer, R Nataraj, alleged that his seniority was overlooked while appointing Latika for the post.
He also claimed that there were discrepancies in the selection procedure and Union Public Service Commission(UPSC) was not involved as mandated by the Supreme Court.
''The Tamil Nadu Government had said it had followed the system of selection by the Chief Secretary routed through the Chief Minister and finally appointed by the Governor. The court refused to accept that saying it's not adhering to the Supreme Court's guidelines,'' said AL Somayaji the counsel for R Nataraj.
The government will now have to forward a list of all the eligible candidates for the post, to the UPSC, which will then shortlist three names for the state to choose from.
Well, it is no secret now that in Tamil Nadu political considerations always score over merit when it comes to plum postings and promotions and, finally who gets to add the feather to their cap is a mystery. While all the administrative procedures will take a few months to complete, until then the state's first woman DGP will continue to hold the office.