3 min readBhubaneswarUpdated: Aug 13, 2026 07:37 PM IST
Suspense over Odisha’s next police chief continues as the Supreme Court Thursday got the Union Public Service Commission’s (UPSC) assurance that the meeting to finalise three names for DGP will not be convened till August 18, when the court will consider a petition challenging the selection process in the state. This comes after a Public Interest Litigation challenged the state’s selection process, saying it violated a landmark court ruling.
The UPSC was scheduled to hold its meeting Thursday to finalise a panel of three names from which the state government will pick one for the next police chief.
The Odisha government has started the process of appointing the new DGP as it has allowed incumbent police chief YB Khurania, a 1990-batch officer, to retire from government service with effect from August 16.
Official sources said the state government had initially sent a panel to the UPSC in April but later withdrew it. In May, another panel comprising three DG-rank officers and eight additional DG-rank officers was sent to the UPSC. Ahead of the UPSC meeting on August 7, the state government withdrew the list, saying it would prepare a fresh one.
The Odisha government on Monday promoted two additional director-general (ADG)-rank officers — Sanjeeb Panda and Yeshwant Jethwa, both 1994-batch officers — to the director general of police (DGP) rank.
Top sources in the government said Panda, who is currently heading the anti-Naxal operations and special intelligence wing, is considered a frontrunner for the DGP race, while 1990-batch officer Sudhanshu Sarangi, currently DG, fire services, and 1993-batch officer RP Koche, serving as director, intelligence, are also in contention.
Meanwhile, a public interest litigation (PIL) filed before the Supreme Court alleged that the state government was attempting to bypass the rules for the appointment of the police chief. Appearing for the petitioner, senior advocate P Chidambaram mentioned the matter before the Bench led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and submitted that the Odisha government was not following the procedure laid down in the top court’s landmark judgment in the Prakash Singh vs Union of India case for the appointment of DGPs.
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Chidambaram also alleged that an officer was given a promotion and that his name was being included in the panel sent to the UPSC. Odisha Advocate General Pitambar Acharya denied any breach of rules and questioned the maintainability of a PIL in a dispute related to a government appointment.
According to a senior counsel, the CJI-led Bench then sought the views of senior advocate Raju Ramachandran, the amicus curiae in the Prakash Singh case, and, considering his view, asked the UPSC to defer the meeting to finalise the panel of officers for Odisha’s next police chief.
The state government is yet to decide its next course of action as Khurania’s tenure ends on August 16. Official sources said the government is seeking legal opinion before taking a decision.