Bhubaneswar: The Supreme Court on Wednesday conducted hearing on a PIL pertaining to the appointment of a new Director General of Police (DGP) in Odisha.

During the hearing, the SC examined details about the exclusion of senior IPS officer Sushanta Kumar Nath from the list of probable candidates, withdrawal of his integrity certificate and subsequent creation of two temporary ex-cadre posts.

Senior advocate P Chidambaram, appearing for petitioner Jayanta Das, told the court that there was ‘premeditated collusion’ between the Odisha government and the Centre in withdrawing Nath’s integrity certificate on the basis of a CBI communication.

He also informed the court that temporary ex-cadre posts were subsequently created to facilitate other officers.

The SC sought to know whether the Odisha government was aware of the CBI’s request to question Nath when it included his name in the panel of officers for appointment as the DGP.

A bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices Joymalaya Bagchi and V Mohana raised the question while hearing a petition against Nath’s exclusion from the race due to an ongoing CBI probe into the Sub-inspector (SI) recruitment scam.

The bench also sought clarity on the sequence of events surrounding the CBI inquiry into the SI recruitment scam.

Justice Bagchi asked whether the Odisha government was aware of the CBI’s request to examine Nath when it forwarded his name for consideration.  

Senior advocate Karuna Nundy, appearing for Nath, today informed the court that the CBI case was registered on November 12, 2025 and that Nath was not named as an accused. She added that Odisha government was aware of the case when it forwarded Nath's name in May 2026.

Nundy said there was nothing against Nath in the CBI case. They want to speak to him because he is the ex-officio chairman of the Odisha Police Recruitment Board (OPRB), the Court was told.

The hearing will continue on September 24 (Thursday). Odisha Advocate General Pitambar Acharya is expected to respond to the apex court's query.