High Court warns of promotion freeze over delay in police rule notification
Saurabh Malik
Chandigarh, April 6
Taking a tough stand against the non-notification of rules on the merger of IRB personnel with the District Police in compliance with its previous orders, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has issued a stern warning on staying all promotions within the police force in case of further inaction. The Bench also warned of punitive action against the functionaries concerned for repeated contempt of court orders.
Justice Rajbir Sehrawat of the high court also made it clear that the code of conduct’s imposition would not come in way of the order’s implantation by the next date of hearing. “It is clarified that no excuse of code of conduct being in operation shall be entertained by this court. It will be purely for the respondents to arrange all necessary permissions, if so required from any authority, before the next date of hearing and to notify the rules”,” the Bench asserted.
The directions came on a bunch of two petitions filed against IPS officer Manoj Yadava and other respondents by Rajender Singh and over 200 other petitioners through advocate GS Gopera. As the matter came up for resumed hearing, Justice Sehrawat asserted a perusal of the previous order showed that the respondents were granted two months to notify the rules. But their counsel submitted that the rules were still in the process of finalisation.
Justice Sehrawat added the “predecessor contempt Bench” vide order dated November 22 last year had also expressed dismay at the approach adopted by the respondents. It had further expressed the hope that the rules would be notified within four months from that date.
Justice Sehrawat further added even the extended period had expired long back. Still the respondents had not done the needful. Taking note of the respondents’ plea for additional time to produce the notified rules, the Bench adjourned the matter to May first week for the purpose, “failing which this court will be constrained to stay all promotions in the Haryana Police till the necessary rules are notified by the respondents, besides punishing the respondents for repeated contempt qua the orders passed by this Court”. Before parting with the order, the Bench ruled that further opportunity would not be granted in
the matter.
