Administrative delays in promotions cannot infringe the rights of eligible candidates; timely compliance with statutory rules is essential for maintaining fairness in public service.

ORDER

Per: - Rajinder Singh Dogra, Judicial Member

1. The SWP/WP(C) No. 2627/2010 was transferred from the Hon’ble High Court of Jammu and Kashmir at Jammu and was registered as T.A. No. 61/6783/2020 by the Registry of this Tribunal.

2. The present matter was filed before the Hon’ble High Court with following prayer:

a) “allow the present writ petition;

b) command and direct the respondents to promote the petitioners as Sub-Inspector in J&K Police from the date the vacancies in the promotional quota of Assistant Sub-Inspectors became available under J&K Police Rules;

c) command and direct the respondents to reckon the seniority of the petitioners as Sub-Inspectors from the date the petitioners became eligible and the vacancies in the promotional quota for promotion to the post of Sub-Inspectors became vacant for the Assistant Sub-Inspectors;

d) command and direct the respondents to fix the seniority of the petitioners after their promotion as Sub-Inspectors over and above those who have been selected by way of direct recruitment on 9^th of October, 2010 and are yet to be appointed;

(v) direct the respondents to take steps for completing the process of promotion of the petitioners for the post of Sub-Inspectors, which has already been delayed for want of APRs of the petitioners for different years;

(vi) any other writ, order or direction which this Hon'ble Court may deem fit and just in the facts and circumstances of the case may also be issued in favour of the petitioner and against the respondents.”

3. The facts of the case as averred by the petitioners in their pleadings, are as follows: -

a) The petitioners are citizens of India and permanent residents of Jammu and Kashmir. They were directly recruited and appointed as Assistant Sub-Inspectors in the J&K Police on various dates and are entitled to all legal, fundamental, and statutory rights under Part III of the Indian Constitution and J&K Police Rules, 1960. The petitioners filed a joint writ petition as they are similarly situated, facing identical circumstances, and seeking identical relief. The petitioners claim that their rightful promotion to the post of Sub-Inspector was unjustly delayed.

b) The petitioners' names were supposed to be included in Promotion List "E" for the year 2010, which was intended to fill 125 vacancies of Sub-Inspectors under the 50% promotional quota reserved for Assistant Sub-Inspectors. Despite being eligible, their promotion was delayed due to the non-receipt of their Annual Performance Reports (APRs) and Character Rolls by the concerned authorities. As per Rule 382 and Rule 391 of the J&K Police Rules, preparation of Promotion List "E" is mandatory and must be published annually in the police gazette. Rule 395(2) mandates that the Superintendent of Police must prepare a confidential report on the performance of Assistant Sub-Inspectors by 15^th January each year and submit the same through the Deputy Inspector General to the Inspector General of Police with his remarks.

c) A Signal dated 10.04.2010 was issued by Respondent No. 3 requesting information regarding eligible candidates for promotion, including the petitioners, to be provided by 15^th April 2010 to enable the preparation of Promotion List "E." However, due to non-compliance by the concerned authorities, Respondent No. 3 sent a Wireless Message dated 01.06.2010 reiterating the request for prompt submission of the required information. Despite these communications, the required APRs and Character Rolls were not furnished, compelling Respondent No. 3 to issue yet another Communication dated 08.07.2010. In this communication, Respondent No. 3 again requested the submission of the required APRs to facilitate the preparation of Promotion List "E." Despite further attempts to expedite the process, delays persisted, leading to another Communication dated 24.08.2010, where Respondent No. 2 instructed Respondent No. 3 to complete the character rolls and APRs without further delay.

d) The delay in preparing