PANAJI
The High Court of Bombay at Goa has directed the State to decide the seniority of Police Inspectors (PIs) promoted since 2013, including those on an ad-hoc basis.
The order came in reply to a petition filed by Police Inspectors (law and order) who were promoted on an ad-hoc basis in 2013 from the post of Police Sub-Inspectors (PSIs). They sought seniority over PIs in the Indian Reserve Battalion (IRB) who were promoted three years later, in 2016, on a regular basis.
Senior advocate Nitin Sardesai, appearing for the petitioners, argued that the term “ad-hoc” was used only due to pending litigation at the time of their promotion and not because the process lacked merit or regularity.
“There were certain petitions challenging our original appointments as PSIs pending before the High Court. Since it was sub judice, we were appointed as ad-hoc PSIs and then promoted as ad-hoc PIs. But we were selected against regular vacancies by a duly constituted Departmental Promotion Committee,” Sardesai said.
He pointed out that the IRB PIs, though promoted on a regular basis in 2016, came through the system three years after the petitioners. “The issue arose when the department prepared a seniority list showing us as junior to the IRB PIs merely because our appointments were termed ad-hoc,” he stated.
The petitioners contested the seniority list, arguing that their promotions were regular in all respects except for the temporary “ad-hoc” label, which arose due to the pending matter. “Eventually, the High Court decided in favour of the IRB, but we challenged the verdict in the Supreme Court, which ruled in our favour,” the petition said.
The High Court has thus ordered that the seniority be revised, taking into account the 2013 promotions.
