In March this year Telangana Assembly passed Bills giving power to the state government to appoint a DGP of its choice. Within a month Andhra Pradesh Govt too took the move. As the political tussle between the central and AP governments escalate, the Andhra Pradesh Assembly has reportedly passed a Bill amending AP Police (Reforms) Act, 2014. The amendment bill empowers the state government to select and appoint the state's Director General of Police (DGP) on its own without sending a list of probable candidates to the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC). The amendment bill is now slated to be sent over to the Legislative Council. Once passed from there, it has to be sent to the state governor for approval. The question is whether the state governor will at all pass the bill. It may be recalled that the state government had issued an ordinance in December 2017 amending the AP Police Reforms Act just before the retirement of former DGP N Sambasiva Rao on December 31 following a decision by state Cabinet which decided to amend the AP Police (Reforms) Act, 2014 to make the way for DGP selection on its own without the Centre's intervention. The state government's argument is that the Supreme Court in its judgment in Prakash Singh vs Union of India (2006) directed that every state should amend their Police Act facilitating the appointment of DGP. As per 2014 Act, the government should send three senior-most police officers' names empanelled by UPSC for the appointment of DGP. Now this provision has been apparently done away with. The sub-section (2) of the Act provides that the DGP should hold the post for a minimum period of two years, irrespective of the date of retirement on attaining the age of superannuation. However, the government said, "It is decided to select the DGP (Head of Police Force) by the state government from among the officers of the director general of police. The DGP should have a tenure in accordance with the rules made under the All India Services Act, 1951. It is decided to amend the AP Police (Reforms) Act, 2014 suitably." It may be recalled that the appointment of N Sambasiva Rao as DGP became controversial as the UPSC rejected the proposal which had led to the amendment in the Act. After the retirement of Sambasiva Rao on December 31, 2017, the state government had appointed M Malakondaiah in the DGP post on its own. The AP government's selective action on the larger issues of police reforms, on which the 2006 SC judgment in Prakash Singh's case, is sure to open a Pandora's box as the Central government may see the bill as a blatant attempt at abusing the SC judgment to turn the state police force into an extension of the state ruling party.