CAT directs appellant authority to decide cop’s appeal in 8 weeks

The Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) Chandigarh Bench has directed the appellant authority to decide the appeal of Harinder Singh Sekhon, who has challenged the decision of Chandigarh Police SSP for demoting him from the rank of Inspector to that of Sub-Inspector.

The order was passed by the tribunal today on an application filed by Sekhon. He had challenged the order dated December 24, 2024, whereby he had been demoted. The UT Police had taken the decision following a department inquiry into the allegations of his involvement in an alleged graft case. Earlier, the tribunal in January 2025 had directed the appellate authority not to pass any order on the appeal filed by the applicant till the next date of hearing.

Sekhon had challenged the order on various grounds. He said the decision to demote him was illegal and not passed by a competent authority. He said that that from the stage of decision to department proceedings against him till passing of the order on demotion, the decisions had been taken by a lower authority and not the appointing authority as provided for in the Punjab Police Rules.

He assailed the action of the respondents on the ground that as per Punjab Police Rules and standing order, the appointing authority for the rank of inspector was the Deputy Inspector General of Police. He claimed that his career had been outstanding and he had won two gold medals in world games and also won the title of Mr Olympia three times, bringing laurels to the Chandigarh Police.

On the other hand, UT counsel opposed his application. He said that the applicant had not exhausted the remedies available to him under the Punjab Police Rules.

After hearing the arguments, the tribunal directed the appellate authority to decide the appeal filed by Sekhon within eight weeks.