RANCHI, Aug. 19 -- The Supreme Court on Monday refused to entertain a contempt plea filed against the Jharkhand government over the appointment of Anurag Gupta as the state's director general of Police (DGP), observing that the court's contempt powers and its public interest litigation (PIL) jurisdiction could not be allowed to become tools for settling personal or political scores. A bench led by Chief Justice of India Bhushan R Gavai, and comprising justices K Vinod Chandran and NV Anjaria, said while it was open to examining the validity of the new rules that the state government relied upon to appoint Gupta, it would not proceed with contempt proceedings. "In the Jharkhand case, we don't want contempt jurisdiction to be used to settle political scores. If you have a problem with a particular appointment, go to the central administrative tribunal. But settle your political scores in front of the electorate," the bench remarked. The apex court was hearing a plea linked to the landmark Prakash Singh case that laid down guidelines for appointments of DGPs in the states. The application sought contempt action against the Jharkhand government for allegedly defying the top court's directions while removing the then DGP Ajay Kumar Shri to accommodate Gupta. Stressing the limited role of PIL jurisdiction, the court said: "PIL is a mechanism to dilute the issue of locus to allow public spirited persons to approach this court. The jurisdiction cannot be permitted to settle the scores between competing interests."...