PANAJI
The High Court of Bombay at Goa has dismissed a writ petition that sought directions to enforce cadre rules in the appointment of Indian Police Service officers in the State, holding that the plea cannot be entertained in service matters.
The petition, filed by Sudip Tamankar, had urged the court to direct the authorities to implement the AGMUT (Arunachal Pradesh-Goa-Mizoram and Union Territories) cadre rules while appointing officers to IPS posts in Goa.
Tamankar contended that vacancies earmarked for IPS officers under the AGMUT cadre were being filled by officers from the Goa State police cadre, allegedly compromising the efficiency and effectiveness of the department.
The Division Bench comprising Justice Suman Shyam and Justice Amit Jamsandekar, however, declined to entertain the petition. The court noted that the issue raised pertained to an alleged violation of cadre rules, which fall squarely within the domain of service jurisprudence.
The Bench observed that the petitioner was neither a serving officer nor a former member of the police department and had failed to demonstrate how he had the legal standing, or locus, to maintain the petition.
“In view of the settled law that no Public Interest Litigation can be entertained in service matters and considering the statements made in the writ petition, we are not inclined to entertain this Writ Petition at the instance of the Petitioner,” it said while dismissing the plea.
