Promotion to selection posts must be based on merit rather than seniority; the government is not obliged to promote an officer if deemed unsuitable.

1. This is an application by the petitioner in order to quash an order of the Government dated 16-11-68, being Government Order No. 1716 - D of 1968 by which respondents 2 to 4 have been adjusted and promoted as Dy. Inspectors General of Police (hereinafter to be referred to as the D. Is. G.) in the Indian Police Service cadre of the State (hereinafter to be referred to as the IPS). The order impugned is annexure 1 to the petition and the relevant portion of this order runs thus :
"Consequent upon the appointment of the following State Police Officers to the Indian Police Service Cadre of Jammu and Kashmir vide Government of India, Ministry of Home Affairs Notification No. 20/4/67 - AIS(III) dated 26th October, 1968, the following postings and adjustments are hereby ordered : -
Name of the officer with present post Post against which adjusted 
1. Sh. J.N. Hashia DIG (CID) DIG (CID) (Cadre) 
2. Sh. Peer Ghulam Hasan Shah, DIG Kashmir Range DIG Kashmir Range (Cadre) 
3. Kh. Mohd. Sultan Joint Commandant General, DIG Armed Police. He will continue to hold the 
Home Guards and Jt. Director Civil Defence and addl. charge of Joint Commandant General Home 
DIG Armed Police. Guards and Joint Director Civil Defence (Cadre). 
The order impugned has been assailed by the petitioner mainly on three grounds: (1) that it is violative of Art.14 and Art.16 of the Constitution of India inasmuch as the petitioner was superseded without any good and sufficient reasons; (2) that the promotion of respondents 2 to 4 by respondent No. 1 was clearly inconsistent with several IPS Rules and Regulations framed under S. 3 of the Central Services Act, and (3) that the order was arbitrary and mala fide.

2. In order to appreciate the contentions raised before us it will be necessary to give a short history of the services of the petitioner as also Respondents 2 to 4. The petitioner is a graduate and entered the J and K State Police Service in the year 1955 and was posted as Asstt. Superintendent of Police. Thereafter he was sent for training at the Central Police Training College (now called the National Police Academy) at Mount Abu and also took a departmental training course at the Police Training School Phillaur. The petitioner was confirmed in the State Police Service in the year 1957. In 1958 when the Constitution of the J and K cadre of the IPS came into existence, the petitioner was taken as a direct recruit under R. 4 (3) of the IPS (Recruitment) Rules of 1954 with effect from 4-9-58. The notification of his appointment by the Ministry of Home Affairs was made on 29-8-59. This notification is annexure 2 to the petition. The petitioner further alleges that after appointment to the IPS he was assigned 1956 as the year of his allotment under R.5 - B of the IPS (Regulation of Seniority) Rules, 1954. The petitioner further claims that in recognition of the valuable services which he rendered he was appointed to several important posts and was eventually selected for deputation to the Intelligence Bureau in the year 1959. The petitioner further claims that he had received training in a number of courses like
(a) Finger Print and Tearsmoke course at Police Training School, Phillaur 1957 
(b) National Fire Service Course Nagpur 1958 
(c) North Zone Police Training course Rajasthan 1960 
(d) Advanced course for IPS officers at National Police Academy Mount Abu 1962 
(e