VINOD KUMAR SINGH Vs. STATE OF U P

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Present petition has been filed for a writ of certiorari quashing the impugned order dated 9.8.1999, passed by opposite party No. 2.

(2.) Heard learned counsel for the petitioners and learned standing counsel. Counter-affidavit has been filed.

(3.) Petitioner Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 belong to the police service. Petitioner Nos. 1 and 2 are Sub-Inspectors whereas petitioner Nos. 3, 4, 5 and 6 are police constables. In the intervening night of 17/18.9.1995 under police station Madlaon, Lucknow, these police personnel were engaged in apprehending the culprits who had committed murders in a house. Four persons were murdered. The culprits were notorious criminals. These police personnel engaged them in an encounter in which these notorious criminals were killed and several others were arrested. This was treated as courageous act. But the case of petitioner No. 1 Vinod Kumar Singh was not considered for out-of-turn promotion, therefore. Writ Petition No. 2347 (S/S) of 1998 was filed. The petition was decided finally with a direction to the competent authority to decide the representation of the petitioner. This representation of the petitioner dated 11.6.1998 was addressed to Director General of Police. Petitioner No. 1 Vinod Kumar Singh served the certified copy of the order of High Court dated 27.5.1998 along with a copy of the said representation to opposite parties. Director General, Police on 18.11.1998 called for a report of the Inspector General of Police who submitted his report on 1.8.1999 in which he stated that Up Nirikshak Sarnath Singh also participated in the aforesaid encounter and his case for out-of-turn promotion has been recommended. He discussed the cases of the police officers and constables who participated in the said encounter and after examining the case of each one, recommended their out-of-turn promotion. He concluded in the report that the case of Up Nirikshak V.K. Singh, who is petitioner Vinod Kumar Singh, was recommended earlier for out-of-turn promotion. There is an order dated 27.8.1998 in which Director General of Police gave out-of-turn promotion to two Sub-Inspectors of Police, namely, Sunil Kumar and Shashi Bhushan Singh along with few police constables. This out-of-turn promotion related to certain incident of District Ghaziabad. Similarly on 11.11.1998 out-of-turn promotion was granted by Director General of Police to Head Constable Ramesh Chandra Yadav and Constable Kanhalya Rai in connection with separate incidents of District Ghaziabad and District Allahabad. These documents Annexures-2 to 14 detailed these acts of Director General of Police in contrast to the case of the petitioners of district Lucknow. Most relevant document Annexure-15 shows that Director General of Police gave out-of-turn promotion to one Sub-Inspector of Police and few police constables relating to encounter of notorious criminal Sripati Darhi of police station Sarojni Nagar, Lucknow, but the same yardstick has not been applied to the case of petitioner No. 1 Vinod Kumar Singh. As far as the case of other petitioners of this writ petition is concerned learned counsel for the petitioners could not state specifically as to whether they have been given promotion in normal course or not. Therefore, on the basis of the statement of the learned counsel for the petitioners only the case of petitioner No. 1 Vinod Kumar Singh is being considered in this writ petition.