<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"><span style="font-size: 12.8px;">The Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered all states and Union territories not to appoint any police officer as acting Director General of Police (DGP). </span></div>''<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"><br />''</div>''<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">A bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra directed all the states to send names of senior police officers to the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) for being considered as probable candidates to be appointed as DGPs or Police Commissioners as the case may be.</div>''<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"></div>''<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">The bench, also comprising A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud, said, the UPSC, in turn, will prepare a list of three most suitable officers and the states will be free to appoint one of them as police chief. </div>''<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"><br />''</div>''<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">The bench also said that endeavour should be made that a person, who had been selected and appointed as DGP, has reasonable period of service left. </div>''<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"></div>''<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">The apex court also ruled that any rule or state law on the subject of appointment of police officers will be kept at abeyance. </div>''<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"><br />''</div>''<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">The bench, however, granted liberty to the states, which have made laws on police appointments, to move before it seeking modification of its order.</div>''<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"></div>''<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">The directions came on a plea of the Centre seeking modification of the judgment rendered in the Prakash Singh case on police reforms.</div>