ASHOK KUMAR Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner is a member of Indian Police Service. He had initially joined Bihar Police Service, as Deputy Superintendent of Police and was promoted to the rank of Additional Superintendent of Police with effect from 31.12.2010. Staff Officer is the highest promotional post in the cadre of Bihar Police Service in Pay Band-4, with the Grade Pay of Rs. 87,00/-. One post of Staff Officer had become vacant on 01.10.2013, consequent upon retirement of an incumbent to the post, for filling up of which a process was initiated by the Department in September 2013. A proposal was sent by the Department to the Bihar Public Service Commission (hereinafter referred to as 'the BPSC') on 21.10.2013 for convening a meeting of Departmental promotion Committee (hereinafter referred to as the DPC). A meeting of DPC was convened for 26.11.2013. Before the case of the petitioner and other officers for promotion as Staff Officer could be considered by the BPSC, they were granted promotion to the cadre of Indian Police Service with effect from 21.10.2013 and, therefore, the meeting of the DPC was postponed.

(2.) It is the petitioner's case that he had become entitled to promotion to the post of Staff Officer with effect from 01.10.2013, when the post had fallen vacant, he being the next seniormost officer in the cadre of Bihar Police Service, and in that background this writ application has been filed seeking direction to the respondents to grant him promotion on the post of Staff Officer in the Pay Band-4 with Grade Pay of Rs. 8700/- with effect from 01.10.2013, with consequential monetary and other admissible benefits. It is the petitioner's case that because of denial of promotion to the post of Staff Officer with effect from 01.10.2013, the petitioner has suffered huge monetary loss, which is recurring in nature. He has done his own calculation of difference of pay between what he has received from the date of his promotion to the Indian Police Service until June 2019 and, what he would have received had he been given promotion to the rank of Staff Officer. It is the petitioner's case that fixation of pay on his promotion in IPS cadre is dependent on the pay which he was getting prior to entry into the said cadre and accordingly, had promotion to Staff Officer in Bihar Police Service been granted to him with effect from 01.10.2013, substantially higher pay would have been fixed than what has been fixed.

(3.) It is to be noted that this writ application has been filed more than four years after the petitioner was promoted to the rank of Indian Police Service and the date with effect from which he has claimed his promotion to the rank of Staff Officer in Bihar Police Service. It is the petitioner's case that when he learnt in 2013 that his promotion to the post of Staff Officer was not considered on account of his promotion to the cadre of IPS, he had filed a representation on 01.11.2013 and since then he had been waiting for a positive response from the Home (Police) Department. He filed yet another representation on 18.06.2017, in response to which he received a communication on 11.07.2017 to the effect that since the petitioner, along with two other officers in the zone of consideration were promoted to the cadre of IPS with effect from 21.10.2013, no promotion could be granted to him to the rank of Staff Officer in the cadre of Bihar Police Service.