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Judgment
The present contempt petition has been filed alleging non compliance of the order dated 26.10.2017 passed by this Court in SWP No. 273/2017.
Vide the aforesaid order, a direction was issued to the official respondents to complete the process of finalizing the seniority of Deputy Superintendents of Police after providing opportunity to all the stake holders.
Learned counsel for the petitioners submitted that the needful has not been done till date as the seniority of all the members of the cadre has not been finalized. He further submitted that though some placement has been given to the petitioners in the seniority list, however, no effective relief has been granted. Juniors to the petitioners are still working as Superintendents of Police on In-charge basis.
On the other hand, learned counsel for the respondents, while tendering unconditional apology for delay in compliance of the order passed by this Court, submitted that the seniority position of the petitioners has been finalized. There were eight petitioners in the writ petition. The present contempt petition has been filed only by two of them. In paragraph 8 of the compliance report dated 21.01.2020 has stated that six of the writ petitioners have been granted their seniority position, whereas two could not be granted due to non-availability of lien free vacancy in the cadre of Deputy Superintendent of Police.
The effort of the petitioners is to expand the scope of the contempt petition, however, the plea cannot be entertained as the order passed by this Court in the case of the petitioners stands already complied with.
After hearing the learned counsel for the parties, in my view, the direction issued by the Court on 26.10.2017 regarding finalization of the seniority of the petitioners has been complied with, as stated in paragraph 8 of the compliance report dated 21.01.2020. Their Serial numbers in the seniority have been mentioned. It is only after the aforesaid seniority is finalized that any consequential effect can be given. The petitioners cannot be permitted to expand the scope of the present contempt petition claiming that the seniority of the entire cadre needs to be finalized. That cannot be the subject matter of the present contempt petition.
Accepting the plea raised by the respondents as also the unconditional apology tendered, in my view, nothing survives in the contempt petition and the same is, accordingly, dismissed.