Prem Singh and Another vs State of Himachal Pradesh and Others

Sanjay Karol, J.—Appellants are Matriculates. They were confirmed as Inspectors. For the next higher post i.e. Deputy Superintendent of Police, post of Inspector is a feeder cadre. The recruitment to the post of Dy. S.P. is to be in accordance with the H.P. Police Service Rules, 1973, which prescribes the minimum educational qualification to be a graduate. In terms of Notification dated 18.6.2004, the State Government took a decision of relaxing the condition of educational qualification and promoting 11 Inspectors to the posts of Dy. Superintendent of Police. This order of promotion has attained finality. This fact is also not in dispute. Appellants, who are also Matriculates and do not fulfill the eligibility criteria of educational qualification i.e. Graduation, filed Original Application No. 3574 of 2006, titled as Sansar Chand Awasthi and others v. State of H.P. and another, before the H.P. Administrative Tribunal seeking direction that their cases be also considered for promotion to the posts of Dy. S.P. The said Original Application was transferred to this Court and renumbered as CWP (T) 2543 of 2008. In terms of the impugned judgment dated 17.9.2009, the same stands dismissed. Hence, the present appeal.

State has produced the record pertaining to one time relaxation granted in favour of 11 officers, who were promoted as Dy. S.P. in terms of Notification dated 18.6.2004 (Annexure-A-3 with the original petition).

The fact that recruitment and appointment/promotion to the post of Dy. S.P. is regulated by the Rules is not in dispute. Undisputedly, appellants do not fulfill the eligibility criteria of educational qualification.

One time relaxation, as is borne out from the record, was not with respect to the Inspectors on batch-wise basis. It was specific and confined only to the persons mentioned in the Notification. Significantly what weighed with the authorities at the relevant time was the fact that large number of post of Dy. S.P. were lying vacant, which perhaps were adversely affected functioning of the department. Hence relaxation of the eligibility criteria, in the given facts and circumstances was on one time basis and cannot be taken as a precedent for future. Learned single Judge has rightly held that since the year 2004, Government never exercised this power of relaxation of the eligibility, criteria of educational qualification and in future also it cannot be so done. We are of the view that for the post of Dy. Superintendent of Police educational qualification i.e. B.A. is absolutely essential. Hence, the present appeal devoid of any merits is dismissed.