The court ruled that individual acts of bravery warrant recognition and promotion, overriding blanket policies that deny seniority based on group promotions.

ORDER :

Challenging the impugned orders passed by the first respondent in RC No.557909/GB-2(1)/2020 dated 10.11.2020 and R.C.No.582264/GB-2(1)/2020 dated 27.01.2021, the present Writ Petitions have been filed by the petitioners herein. Consequently, seeking a direction to the respondents to revise the petitioners' seniority in the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police, Category-I and Inspector of Police respectively, taking into consideration of the accelerated promotion granted to them and promote them as Additional Superintendent of Police, Category-I and Deputy Superintendent of Police, Category-I at par with their juniors and grant them all consequential service and monetary benefits.

2. Heard Mr.Venkataramani, learned Senior counsel for the petitioners and Mr.R.U.Dinesh Rajkumar, learned Additional Government pleader appearing on behalf of the respondents.

3. The germane facts which leads to the filing of the present cases are as follows:

3.1. The petitioner/Veemaraj joined the service as Grade II Police Constable in 1988 and thereafter selected as SI of Police and promoted as Inspector of Police and was further promoted as Deputy Superintendent of Police, Category I based on accelerated promotion by the Government in G.O. Ms No.959 Home (Pol. IV A) dated 08.11.2013 and assumed office on 13.11.2013 due to administrative delay whereas the petitioner/Vetrivelu who was a graduate joined the service as a directly recruited Sub Inspector of Police in the year 2008.

3.2. In the year 2013, the petitioners being the Inspector of Police and Sub Inspector of Police respectively along with 18 others were assigned with a special task headed by Mr.Narendrapal Singh, IPS, for nabbing the Muslim Fundamentalists namely, Police Fakrudeen, Bilal Malik and Panna Ismail. Based on reliable information, on 05.10.2013, under the guidance of one Mr.Anbu, IPS, the special team including the petitioners after a long struggle for nearly 10 hours, arrested the muslim terror fundamentalists in which one Inspector by name Lakshmanan was attacked with weapons causing severe injuries to him and in consequent to that, one of the fundamentalists by name, Panna Ismail sustained bullet injuries and thus, they successfully completed the operation without any loss of life and property besides recovering 70 kgs of high explosives, ammunition and raw materials for preparing explosives from the said house. Due to the courageous act of the team risking their lives, extensive damages to properties, as well as for loss to many lives nearly 5000 persons, were prevented.

3.3. Considering their effective and risky successful operation, the Director General of Police (DGP) recommended to grant accelerated promotion to all the team members, who were in the operation on 05.10.2013 at Puttur, Andhra Pradesh by creating supernumerary posts. On the proposal of the DGP through his letters dated 30.10.2013 and 06.07.2013, a Committee headed by three officials were formed. The Accelerated Promotion Committee considered the recommendations of the DGP, assessed the individual bravery and valour acts of the police personnels participated in the said operation and being satisfied with their extraordinary bravery and valour acts, recommended the Government vide G.O.Ms No.820, Home Police-IA Department, dated 08.10.2013 for granting accelerated promotion. In view of the recommendations made by the Committee, the petitioners and others were granted accelerated promotion by creating supernumerary posts through G.O.(Ms) No.959, Home Police-1A Department, dated 08.11.2013. Hence, the petitioners herein were promoted as Deputy Superi