Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi on Tuesday informed the Supreme Court that he had advised the Centre to consider the promotion of Archana Ramasundaram, IPS as the DGP without prejudice to the pendency of the writ petition challenging her appointment as Additional Director in the CBI.

The AG told a three-judge Bench of Chief Justice RM Lodha and Justices Kurian Joseph and Rohinton Nariman “I have told the Centre to go ahead with her promotion as there was no bar in appointing her as the DGP. If they (Centre) follow my advice they may appoint her as DGP.”

The AG was responding to the plea made earlier by senior counsel Siddharth Luthra, appearing for Archana that though she had been empanelled for the post of DGP, she could not get her promotion because of the tussle between the Centre and Tamil Nadu Government.

He said four other IPS officers who were empanelled had been promoted as DGP and she could not be appointed as DGP without the Centre withdrawing the earlier order appointing her as Addl. Director of CBI. The CJI told the AG, “I don’t think that a senior officer should suffer like this.”

At the outset the AG defended her appointment as Additional Director of CBI and pleaded for allowing her to discharge the duties. He said there was violation in the procedure. He said the Tamil Nadu Government after agreeing for her deputation in October 2013 remained silent for over three months after the Cabinet Committee on Appointments recommended her appointment as Additional Director.

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