Back
IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI
Rajiv Sahai Endlaw, Asha Menon, JJ.
Tarun Kumar Banjaree & Ors. - Appellant
Versus
Union Of India & Ors. - Respondent
Writ Petition (Civil) No. 12052 of 2019, 12751 of 2019, 12875 of 2019, 13014 of 2019, 13588 of 2019; Civil Miscellaneous No. 49365 of 2019, 593 of 2020, 600 of 2020, 601 of 2020, 52106 of 2019, 604 of 2020, 605 of 2020, 3264 of 2020, 3265 of 2020, 52617 of 2019, 595 of 2020, 596 of 2020, 599 of 2020, 1387 of 2020, 3607 of 2020, 53052 of 2019, 607 of 2020, 608 of 2020, 609 of 2020, 611 of 2020, 612 of 2020, 3612 of 2020, 4412 of 2020, 12706 of 2020, 13025 of 2020, 54944 of 2019, 587 of 2020, 588 of 2020, 591 of 2020
Decided On : 27-07-2020
The petitioners, personnel of different services viz. Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Border Security Force (BSF), Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), and Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), collectively known as Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs), challenged the direction of each of the said services, for filling up of the additional posts created pursuant to the Cadre Review (CR) of the year 2016, as per existing Recruitment Rules (RRs), which provide for certain percentage of posts at each level upto Senior Administrative Grade (SAG) being filled up by deputation; and, sought mandamus directing the respondents to amend the RRs of each service, by including various attributes, as required by Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) Office Memorandums (OMs) dated 20th November, 2009, 15th December, 2009, 24th March, 2009, 24th April, 2009 and 8th May, 2018, particularly to the extent provide for all posts upto SAG level being filled up by promotion only and not by deputation, and to thereafter conduct CR of Group ''A'' Officers of each cadre, by treating each service as Organised Group ''A'' Service (OGAS), as held by this Court in G.J. Singh Vs. Union of India,2015 SCCOnLineDel 11803 and affirmed by the Supreme Court in Union of India Vs. Harananda, (2019) 14 SCC 126 .
Fact of the Case:
The petitioners, personnel of different services viz. Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Border Security Force (BSF), Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), and Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), collectively known as Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs), challenged the direction of each of the said services, for filling up of the additional posts created pursuant to the Cadre Review (CR) of the year 2016, as per existing Recruitment Rules (RRs), which provide for certain percentage of posts at each level upto Senior Administrative Grade (SAG) being filled up by deputation; and, sought mandamus directing the respondents to amend the RRs of each service, by including various attributes, as required by Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) Office Memorandums (OMs) dated 20th November, 2009, 15th December, 2009, 24th March, 2009, 24th April, 2009 and 8th May, 2018, particularly to the extent provide for all posts upto SAG level being filled up by promotion only and not by deputation, and to thereafter conduct CR of Group ''A'' Officers of each cadre, by treating each service as Organised Group ''A'' Service (OGAS), as held by this Court in G.J. Singh Vs. Union of India,2015 SCCOnLineDel 11803 and affirmed by the Supreme Court in Union of India Vs. Harananda, (2019) 14 SCC 126 .
Finding of the Court:
The Court held that the judgments in G.J. Singh and Harananda supra are not concerned with elimination of deputation existing in CAPFs or with the term of residency at each post in the CAPFs. It was also held that the DoPT OMs dated 20th November, 2009, 15th December, 2009, 24th March, 2009, 24th April, 2009 or 8th May, 2018 do not mandate amendment of RRs of CAPFs, to bring them in compliance with the six attributes, particularly attributes (iv) & (vi) of the OM dated 20th November, 2009.
Issues: Whether the judgments in G.J. Singh and Harananda supra are concerned with elimination of deputation existing in CAPFs or with the term of residency at each post in the CAPFs. Whether the DoPT OMs dated 20th November, 2009, 15th December, 2009, 24th March, 2009, 24th April, 2009 or 8th May, 2018 mandate amendment of RRs of CAPFs, to bring them in compliance with the six attributes, particularly attributes (iv) & (vi) of the OM dated 20th November, 2009.
Ratio Decidendi: The Court held that the judgments in G.J. Singh and Harananda supra are not concerned with elimination of deputation existing in CAPFs or with the term of residency at each post in the CAPFs. It was also held that the DoPT OMs dated 20th November, 2009, 15th December, 2009, 24th March, 2009, 24th April, 2009 or 8th May, 2018 do not mandate amendment of RRs of CAPFs, to bring them in compliance with the six attributes, particularly attributes (iv) & (vi) of the OM dated 20th November, 2009. The Court observed that the judgments in G.J. Singh and Harananda supra are not concerned with elimination of deputation existing in CAPFs or with the term of residency at each post in the CAPFs. It was also held that the DoPT OMs dated 20th November, 2009, 15th December, 2009, 24th March, 2009, 24th April, 2009 or 8th May, 2018 do not mandate amendment of RRs of CAPFs, to bring them in compliance with the six attributes, particularly attributes (iv) & (vi) of the OM dated 20th November, 2009.
Final Decision: The Court disposed of the petitions by permitting the members of each Central Armed Police Force to, if so desire, make comprehensive representation(s) to the Ministry of Home Affairs, for amendment of the respective Recruitment Rules of each Central Armed Police Force including qua Cadre Structure, Residency, Deputation etc. The Court also directed the Ministry of Home Affairs to, in compliance of the DoPT OMs dated 31st December, 2010 and 8th May, 2018, immediately undertake the exercise for review of existing Recruitment Rules of each Central Armed Police Force, also taking into consideration the representation(s), if any, received from the members of the Central Armed Police Forces and after giving them an opportunity of being heard and to place its decision in this regard before the Department of Personnel and Training. The Court further directed the Department of Personnel and Training to, immediately on receipt of decision from the Ministry of Home Affairs qua review of Recruitment Rules of respective Central Armed Police Forces, take necessary action thereon. The Court also permitted the petitioners to make comprehensive representation(s) qua each Central Armed Police Force to the Department of Personnel and Training, qua the Cadre Review due in the year 2021 including as to the terms of reference if any thereof. The Court further directed the Department of Personnel and Training to ensure timely commencement of Cadre Review exercise due in the year 2021 and to, in the terms of reference qua Cadre Review for Central Armed Police Forces, consider incorporating the representation(s), if any, made by the members of each Central Armed Police Force and the decision of the Ministry of Home Affairs qua the review of Recruitment Rules of each Central Armed Police Force. The Court also directed that the entire exercise aforesaid be concluded on or before 30th June, 2021.
JUDGMENT
Rajiv Sahai Endlaw, J. - These five petitions, by personnel of different services viz. Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Border Security Force (BSF), Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), and Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), collectively known as Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs), (i) impugn the direction of each of the said services, for filling up of the additional posts created pursuant to the Cadre Review (CR) of the year 2016, as per existing Recruitment Rules (RRs), which provide for certain percentage of posts at each level upto Senior Administrative Grade (SAG) being filled up by deputation; and, (ii) seek mandamus directing the respondents to amend the RRs of each service, by including various attributes, as required by Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) Office Memorandums (OMs) dated 20th November, 2009, 15th December, 2009, 24th March, 2009, 24th April, 2009 and 8th May, 2018, particularly to the extent provide for all posts upto SAG level being filled up by promotion only and not by deputation, and to thereafter conduct CR of Group ''A'' Officers of each cadre, by treating each service as Organised Group ''A'' Service (OGAS), as held by this Court in G.J. Singh Vs. Union of India,2015 SCCOnLineDel 11803 and affirmed by the Supreme Court in Union of India Vs. Harananda, (2019) 14 SCC 126 .
2. The petitions, on the statement of the counsels that the question involved in each of the petitions was the same, were listed together for hearing and arguments have been heard together, with reference to W.P.(C) No.13014/2019 (by personnel of CRPF) only and the counsels, at the close of the hearing also stated that besides pleadings in W.P.(C) No.13014/2019, the pleadings only in W.P.(C) No.12052/2019 may be referred to and there is no need for referring to pleadings in the other petitions, which are the same.
3. W.P.(C) No.13014/2019 has been filed by 83 personnel of CRPF, of the rank of Deputy Inspector General (DIG)/Commandant, pleading that (i) the petitioners are Group ''A'' Officers of CRPF Executive Cadre; (ii) CRPF, though has origin in 1929 as the Crown Representative Police, but in the year 1949, by an Act of Parliament, was constituted as an Armed Force of the Union, known as CRPF, after amalgamating the Armed Police of the States; (iii) though originally there was only one Battalion, but with the passage of time strength of CRPF has increased almost four times i.e. from 60 battalions to 231 battalions, from four sector headquarters to 20 sector headquarters and from one Training Institution to 20 Training Institutions; (iv) though the respondent No.1 Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), Government of India (GOI) is the Cadre Controlling Authority of CRPF but the DoPT under the Ministry of Personnel and Administrative Reforms is the Nodal Agency for cadre management related issues of all Group ''A'' Central Civil Services, as per provisions of Allocation of Business Rules 1962 of GOI; (v) the DoPT has issued list of all Group ''A'' Central Civil Services, in the years 1986, 2008 and 2010 and CRPF Group ''A'' (Executive Cadre) is included in all the lists issued by DoPT; (vi) as per para 2.4 of DoPT OM dated 18th March 1988, RRs are meant for those posts which are not covered by any of the organised services; for the organised services, comprehensive Service Rules should be framed; (vii) DoPT, in 1993 issued a Monograph on cadre management of Group ''A'' Central Civil Services and this Monograph incorporates the decision that cadre management reviews in respect of each of the Group ''A'' services should be undertaken once in three years; subsequently the period of three years was increased to five years vide OM dated 14th December 2010 issued by DoPT; (viii) a typical Group ''A'' service has a cadre structure which is constituted in the form of pyramid, with the various layers of the pyramid corresponding to different levels of responsibilities, with functional distin
An indispensable Tool for Legal Professionals, Endorsed by Various High Court and Judicial Officers
Please visit our Training & Support
Center or Contact Us for assistance
Scan Me!
India’s Legal research and Law Firm App, Download now!
For Daily Legal Updates, Join us on :
Back to top
