MOHAN LAL KAITH Vs. STATE OF J&K

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS writ petition has been preferred seeking a direction to promote the petitioner, by giving a benefit of out -of -turn promotion on the basis of his exemplary and meritorious work, as Deputy Inspector of Police w.e.f. 30.11.2001 with all consequential service and auxiliary benefits including seniority from the date similarly situated persons on the same analogy have been given one time out -of -turn promotion, by issuing a writ of mandamus in invoking the writ jurisdiction under Artcile 226 of the Constitution of India read with section 103 of the Constitution of Jammu & Kashmir State.

(2.) ACCORDING to the averments made in the petition, the petitioner was appointed as Sub Inspector in the year 1991. On the basis of his merit, seniority and suitability, the petitioner was subsequently promoted as Inspector in September, 1998. The State was under the grip of militancy and in order to effectively combat the insurgency, a Special Operation Group (hereinafter, for short, referred to as SOG) was formed in which suitable and willing officers were deputed for duties. The petitioner also volunteered for joining the SOG and was, accordingly, deputed to perform his duty in the SOG. The petitioner was put In -charge of SOG Camp Zakura and thereafter at Nowgam Sringar. Superintendent of Police, Operations, Srinagar, in considering the exemplary and meritorious service in the operations conducted against militants including fighting with dreaded militants in various encounters, strongly recommended the case of the petitioner - Mohan Lal Kaith, Inspector, for out -of -turn promotion to the rank of Dy.SP on anti -insurgency front to the Senior Superintendent of Police, Srinagar vide communication No. SOG/SGR/2001/1513 dated 30.11.2001 (annexure -A). In the aforesaid communication, Superintendent of Police, Operations, Srinagar, indicated few operations in which the performance of the petitioner was outstanding and have also been reproduced in para 4 of the writ petition. On the basis of the aforesaid recommendation, the Senior Superintendent of Police, Srinagar, vide his communication dated 23.03.2002 also highlighted the achievements of Mohan Lal Kaith -petitioner and further recommended his case for out -of turn promotion to the next higher rank so as to help in boosting the morale of such officers who are on forefront of fighting militancy in the valley. This recommendation was made by the SSP, Srinagar to the D.I.G., Srinagar Range, Srinagar, vide communication dated 23.03.2002 ( Annexure -B). The citations alongwith other connected documents were sent by the D.I.G., Srinagar Range, Srinagar, to the Inspector General of Police, Kashmir Zone, Srinagar, vide his communication No. CS/6 -1259 dated 26.04.2002 (Annexure -C) and recommended for out -of -turn promotion in favour of the petitioner.

(3.) THE petitioner has enclosed all these communications wherein recommendations for his out -of -turn promotion have been made by the aforesaid officers in highlighting his achievements in the operations against militancy and are annexures A, B & C with the writ petition. The petitioner further submitted that out -of -turn promotion was granted in view of the policy of the government based on conduct and performance of government employees during militancy vide circular No. 14 -GR of 1990 dated 06.03.1990, annexed with the writ petition as Annexure -D. The petitioner has enclosed the promotion orders of M/S Abdul Rashid Baba, Narinder Pal Singh, Abdul Salam Rather & Sewa Singh Mankotia as annexures E & F respectively to the writ petition. The petitioner, therefore, claims one time out -of -turn promotion in view of the aforesaid circular of the government as recommended by the Superintendent of Police, Operations, Srinagar, for having demonstrated exemplary courage and initiative in different fields in combating the militancy. That the aforesaid officers in respect of whom out -of -turn promotion orders have been issued, though are similarly situated as the petitioner and performed better and outstanding duties in the prevailing crisis, but his case has been ignored and not considered on the same analogy by the respondents which amounted to arbitrary action being violative of Articles 14 & 16 of the Constitution of India and is a clear discrimination in the hands of the respondents.