The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed state governments to stop the practice of appointing acting police chiefs upon the superannuation of an incumbent top cop. Instead, the states were asked to send to the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), the names of three senior police officers, who could be considered as probable candidates for the posts of director general of police (DGP) or police commissioners as the case may be.

The court said the UPSC would prepare a panel of three senior most officers with a reasonable remaining tenure up to retirement (two years or close to it) and send it to the state government to pick one of them for appointment as police chief. The recommendations should be sent three months before the retirement of a police chief.
The order came as the Supreme Court bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra, Justice A M Khanwilkar and Justice D Y Chandrachud passed a slew of directions on police reforms in the country.