Promotion among employees recruited through a common selection process must be governed by state-wide seniority based on the date of enlistment. Region-based seniority lists that result in arbitrary promotional disparities for similarly situated personnel violate the constitutional mandate of equal opportunity and non-discrimination.

ORDER :

R.SURESH KUMAR, J.

The issue raised in this batch of cases since is one and the same, all these cases were heard together and are disposed of by this common order.

2. The prayer sought for in these cases are two fold. In one set of cases, the prayer sought for is a writ of declaration declaring that the Rule 3(b)(ii)(b) of Special Rules for Tamil Nadu Police Subordinate Service, as illegal and unconstitutional and for consequential relief and another set of cases were filed seeking a relief of quashment of C-list or promotion list issued by the employers / state police authorities in respect of promotion to the post of Sub-Inspectors of Police or the Inspectors of Police as the case maybe and for consequential relief.

3. In both the set of prayers, the consequential relief was to seek a direction to the employer / respondents State to draw a list of seniority on the basis of State wide seniority based on the date of enlistment, i.e., from the Constabulary stage of police constables and accordingly give the promotion as per the seniority for the post of Sub-Inspector of Police or the Inspector of Police as the case may be.

4. Since the issue is common and facts are also similar, for the sake of brevity and for better understanding of the cases the facts projected in W.P.(MD).No.7350 of 2022 are traversed herein.

5. That the petitioners in this writ petition were selected and recruited as Grade II Police Constable and in respect of the first petitioner, he joined on 09.06.1993 as Grade II Police Constable and in respect of the second writ petitioner, he joined as Grade II Police Constable on 31.10.1997.

6. As per the procedure in vogue, the selection and recruitment was made by the Tamil Nadu Uniformed Services Recruitment Board through a common recruitment for the cadre of Grade II Police Constable along with the post of Fireman and Jail Warden.

7. After having been selected, the selectees were posted as Grade II Police Constable in Tamil Nadu Special Police and after working for some years, they would be transferred to Armed Reserve in various Districts or Range. Insofar as these petitioners are concerned, they were allotted to Nilgris Range and Tuticorin Range or Nilgris District or Tuticorin District respectively.

8. As per the procedure which is in vogue, a police constable who has been recruited and enlisted as Grade II Police Constable would be given promotion as Grade I Police Constable on completion of 10 years successful completion as Grade II Police Constable. Thereafter on completion of five years service as Grade II Police Constable, he would be further promoted as Head Constable and after total service of 25 years, i.e., 10+5+10, the Head Constable would be further promoted as Special Sub-Inspector. Then the next promotional avenue would be Sub-Inspector of Police which would always be made subject to availability of vacancies in the Armed Reserve and the next hierarchy of post for promotion is Inspector of Police.

9. It is the further case projected by the petitioners that originally the post of Sub-Inspector of Police would be filled up under two method, one is Direct Recruitment, another