PANAJI
Nearly two decades after joining the force and a delayed first promotion, at least 12 Goa Armed Police Inspectors are awaiting promotion to the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police (DySP). Their stagnation has, in turn, held up the promotion of the 2010 batch of Sub-Inspectors (PSIs) to the rank of Inspector.
The officers have alleged that delayed promotions, changes in service rules and unequal treatment over the years have cost them seniority, pay, pensionary benefits and career progression. The prolonged stagnation has also resulted in junior officers overtaking their seniors in rank and career advancement.
Reliable sources told The Goan that the grievance dates back to the first batch of Armed Police PSIs appointed to the India Reserve Battalion (IRBn) in 2006. Under the applicable Recruitment Rules, they became eligible for promotion to PIs after completing five years of regular service and were due for promotion in 2011. However, despite vacancies and with no disciplinary or qualification-related impediment, they were promoted only in 2016.
“Had we been promoted in 2011, we would have become eligible for consideration for promotion as DySPs in 2021. We lost years of seniority and promotional opportunities through no fault of ours,” an affected officer said.
The delay, the officers contend, created a bottleneck through the entire Armed Police hierarchy. Unless the senior PIs are promoted as DySPs, the 2010 batch of PSIs cannot move into Inspector posts.
“This has left the subsequent batch unable to progress... PSIs recruited into the Goa Police during the same period have already been promoted as PIs, while several Armed Police personnel remain in the same rank,” the source stated.
The dispute intensified after the government's May 2022 decision to merge the posts of DySP and Deputy Commandant of the IRB into the Goa Police Service. A common seniority list initially placed some IRB Inspectors above Goa Police Inspectors. The Armed Police officers allege that Police Headquarters later granted retrospective promotions to certain Goa Police Inspectors.
After certain Goa Police officers challenged the matter before the High Court, the seniority list was revised, placing IRB Inspectors below Goa Police Inspectors.
Before the merger, the three IRBs had 21 DySP, nine Deputy Commandant and three Commandant posts. The officers alleged that these promotional avenues were subsequently occupied by Goa Police officers.
“Amendments to the Goa Police Service Rules, including diversion of direct recruitment posts and relaxation of prescribed service and training requirements, enabled faster promotions for some officers... An administrative delay should not become a lifetime penalty on an officer’s career,” another officer said.
The personnel have urged the government to review the entire promotional history, promote the eligible officers, restore parity between the Goa Police and Armed Police and provide corrective relief to officers whose careers were affected by administrative decisions.
