Former Delhi Police Commissioner BS Bassi’s appointment as a member of the Union Public Service Commission elicited much mirth on social media on Tuesday.

A constitutional agency, the Union Public Service Commission conducts examinations to appoint officers under the Indian Administration Service, Indian Police Service and other services. The Commission has a maximum strength of 10 members besides a chairperson. Bassi, 60, will be one of the 10 members.

A 1977 batch IPS officer of Arunachal Pradesh-Goa-Mizoram and Union Territories cadre, Bassi’s appointment comes months after the end of his controversial tenure as chief of the Delhi Police in February.

He was criticised during that stint for his handling of the row sparked by the arrest of the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union president Kanhaiya Kumar. After his force was unable to control the violence outside Patiala Court, Bassi reasoned, “Lawyers are officers of the court... use of heavy force would have been inappropriate in this case.” During that time, Bassi also linked the row to a fake tweet in which Pakistan-based terrorist Hafiz Saeed ostensibly exhorted JNU students to raise anti-national slogans.

At the beginning of this year, Bassi was said to be in contention for a senior role in the Central Information Commission. But the proposal was shot down following strong opposition from the Congress.

The UPSC post comes with a running tenure of six years, but Bassi will only enjoy a tenure of about five years till February 2021. Under the Constitution, a UPSC member can have a maximum of six years tenure or till he attains age of 65 years.

Twitter found the appointment hilarious, with Twitterati flooding timelines with jokes.