Justice Pulla Karthik of the Telangana High Court on Thursday (January 8, 2026) reserved orders on a writ petition challenging the appointment of IPS officer B. Shivadhar Reddy as the State Director General of Police (DGP). The verdict is scheduled to be pronounced on Friday (January 9, 2026).
Following the superannuation of DGP Jitender, the State Government on September 26 last year appointed the 1994-batch IPS officer as DGP (Coordination) and gave him full additional charge as DGP-Head of Police Force (HoPF). On October 10, city-based social activist T. Dhangopal Rao filed a writ petition questioning the legality of the appointment.
The petitioner argued that the Government Order Rt. No. 1339 appointing Mr. Reddy as HoPF violated the Supreme Court’s ruling in Prakash Singh vs Union of India (2018), which, he said, does not permit the appointment of an “acting” or “additional charge” DGP.
At an earlier hearing on December 24, the Court directed the Chief Secretary to immediately forward to the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) a panel of officers eligible for appointment as DGP (HoPF), in accordance with the Prakash Singh judgment and submit a compliance report within two weeks.
