P G VIJAYAN Vs. COMMISSIONER OF POLICE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) AS the facts leading to all the writ petitions are identical, they are disposed of by this common order.

(2.) FOR better appreciation, the facts involved in one of the writ petitions i.e., W.P.No.4648 of 2011, are briefly stated hereunder:- The petitioner-P.G.Vijayan, after entering into service as Gr.II Police Constable, District Armed Reserve on 23.12.1985, was transferred to Coimbatore City Armed Reserve in the year 1992 and again he was transferred to Law and Order in the year 1993. Whileso, as per the Police Service Rules, if a Gr.II PC completes 10 years of service, he is eligible to be upgraded as Gr.I PC and similarly, if a Grade I PC completes 5 years of regular service, he is eligible to be upgraded as Head Constable and 10 years of service thereafter, he is eligible to be upgraded as Special Sub Inspector of Police. With these principles, when the petitioner has completed 10 years of service as Gr.II PC, he was upgraded as Gr.I PC by order dated 28.10.1997 with effect from 01.10.1997 and thereupon, he was also granted selection grade pay with effect from 01.04.1997 and from 01.10.1997, he was paid with a salary of Gr.I PC. Again, on completion of 5 years service in Grade I PC, he was upgraded as Head Constable on 22.07.2002 and upon his up-gradation, he was also paid arrears of pay and allowances separately. Further, it was stated that during the year 1987, the petitioner was awarded with a punishment of cessation of probation and discharged from service by the orders of Superintendent of Police, Dharmapuri District, with effect from 04.09.1987 and as a result, departmental proceedings were initiated under Rule 3(b) of Tamil Nadu Police Subordinate Service (Discipline and Appeal) Rules, for disobeying the orders of Guard Officer and for absence from duty. As against that, when an appeal was filed, the said order was modified into one of postponement of next increment from the date of accrual without cumulative effect, by the Deputy Inspector General of Police, Vellore Range, in his proceedings No.B1/Ap 107/87, dated 20.03.1988 and the period of out of employment from 04.09.1987 to 01.04.1988 was ordered to be treated as eligible leave including extraordinary leave. At this stage, when the up-gradation of the petitioner as Gr.I PC was considered in the year 1997, the punishment suffered by the petitioner was also considered, but, it was not taken into account for the reason that the said punishment did not fall within the check period. Only thereafter, the petitioner was upgraded as Head Constable with effect from 22.07.2002 and thereafter, further upgraded as Special Sub Inspector of Police with effect from 01.01.2011. All of a sudden, the petitioner was issued with impugned order dated 11.02.2011 by the respondent stating that earlier orders of up-gradation as Grade I PC/HC/SSI issued in CPO 2093/2010 and CPO 2094/2010, dated 31.12.2010 in respect of the above petitioner is cancelled and he will continue in the rank of Head Constable, until he reaches the probable date, namely, 01.07.2011. Aggrieved by the said impugned order, the petitioner has filed the present writ petition seeking to quash the same.

(3.) PER contra, Mr.K.V.Dhanapalan, learned Additional Government Pleader appearing for the respondent submitted that the petitioner has not completed 25 years of total service for his up-gradation to the post of Special Sub-Inspector of Police as on 23.12.2010. He has further submitted that the petitioner was appointed as Grade II Police Constable on 23.12.1985 and this being the date of entry into service as Grade II PC, he could have completed 25 years service as on 25.12.2010, provided he has not availed any leave without pay, but according to him, the petitioner has availed 183 days LWP(P) from 02.10.1987 to 01.04.1988 and the respondent mistakenly, without taking into account 183 days LWP(P) availed by the petitioner from 02.10.1987 to 01.04.1988, has upgraded the petitioner from Grade II PC to Grade I PC. Subsequently, on a revised verification of his service register, it has been brought to the notice that the petitioner has availed 183 days LWP(P) from 02.10.1987 to 01.04.1988, therefore, the date of advancement of up-gradation as Grade I PC and Head Constable have been modified with effect from 23.06.1996 and with effect from 23.06.2001 respectively by order dated 11.02.2011. In as much as the petitioner has not completed 10 years of service in the rank of Head Constable, the order of up-gradation as Special Sub-Inspector of Police cannot be legally issued. Therefore, the petitioner is not justified to come to this Court challenging the impugned order, since he has not completed 25 years of service, as he has completed only 24 years 5 months and 24 days of service as on 23.12.2010. Further, it was contended that it is also equally not proper on the part of the petitioner to say that the impugned order was passed after a long delay. When the petitioner was issued with the order of up-gradation to the post of Special Sub-Inspector of Police, within 41 days from the date of passing of the order of up-gradation to the post of Special Sub-Inspector of Police, on further verification of the petitioner's service records, it was found that he has not completed 25 years of total service. Therefore, the impugned order was passed cancelling the order of up-gradation of Special Sub-Inspector of Police, therefore, it is not open to the petitioner to say that there is a violation of principles of natural justice. Once the petitioner completes 25 years of service, he would be again upgraded to the post of Special Sub-Inspector of Police. Hence, the contention of the petitioner that he has completed 25 years of service as on 23.12.2010 is factually incorrect and on that basis, he prayed for dismissal of the present writ petition.