IN THE HIGH COURT FOR THE STATE OF TELANGANA AT HYDERABAD THE HON’BLE THE CHIEF JUSTICE SRI APARESH KUMAR SINGH AND THE HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE G.M.MOHIUDDIN WRIT PETITION No.33548 of 2016 DATE: 09.03.2026 BETWEEN:

L.S.Chowhan ….Petitioner AND Union of India and 9 others ….Respondents

ORDER

Heard Sri T.Koteswara Rao, learned counsel for the petitioner;

Sri B.Narasimha Sharma, learned Additional Solicitor General of India representing Sri N.Bhujanga Rao, learned Deputy Solicitor General of India appearing for respondent No.1; Sri Ajay Kumar Kulkarni, learned counsel appearing for respondent No.2-Union Public Service Commission (UPSC); Sri A.Raghuram Mahadev, learned counsel representing Sri B.Rajeshwar Rao, learned Government Pleader for the State of Andhra Pradesh appearing for respondent Nos.3 and 4 and Sri B.Krishna, learned Government Pleader appearing for Services (Home) appearing for respondent Nos.12 and 13 and perused the record.

2. The present writ petition is filed with the following prayer:

“……it is prayed that this Hon'ble Court may be pleased to call for the records relating to Ο.Α.Νο.1303/2011 on the file of the Hon'ble Central Administrative Tribunal, Hyderabad Bench, Hyderabad and quash the order dt. 30-06-2016 in so far as went against the petitioner by issuing a writ of certiorari or any other appropriate writ, order or direction as the same is illegal and contrary to law and consequently allow the O.A.No.1303/2011 as prayed for and pass such other order or orders as this Hon'ble Court may deem fit and proper in the circumstances of the case.”

Factual background (in brief)

3. The petitioner was appointed as a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) in the erstwhile State of Andhra Pradesh in the year 1998 through direct recruitment conducted by the Andhra Pradesh Public Service Commission (APPSC). The petitioner was promoted as Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) in the year 2005 and thereafter as Superintendent of Police (SP) in the year 2008. It is the case of the petitioner that he was never superseded by any of his juniors in these promotions.

4. Indian Police Service (Appointment by Promotion) Regulations, 1955 (for short ‘1955 Regulations’) govern the promotion of officers from the State Police Service to the Indian Police Service (IPS). Under the said Regulations, a Selection Committee is constituted every year to prepare a list of suitable officers for promotion to the IPS. The petitioner, having completed the requisite eight years of service as a DSP, became eligible for consideration for the panel years 2009-A and 2010.

5. The Selection Committee convened its meeting on 27.10.2011 to consider eligible officers for the said panel years. While forwarding the proposal to respondent No.2-Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), respondent No.3-State Government and respondent No.4-the Director General of Police (DGP) withheld the integrity certificate of the petitioner on account of certain allegations said to have been levelled against him, which were subsequently enquired into and culminated in issuance of a warning memorandum dated

22.08.2011.

6. Aggrieved by the withholding of the integrity certificate, the petitioner filed O.A.No.1073 of 2011. The said O.A. was disposed of on 18.11.2011 directing the respondents to issue the integrity certificate to the petitioner if he fell within the parameters of the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) Circular, dated 27.10.1999. However, by the time this order was passed, the Selection Committee for 2009-A and 2010 years had already met on

27.10.2011, and the selection process had been concluded.

7. The petitioner’s case was considered by the Selection Committee for the panel years 2009-A and 2010. As per the minutes of the meeting placed on record by the UPSC, the petitioner was assessed as “Good” for both the panel years on an overall assessment of his service record. In view of the statutory limitation on the size of the select list and the availability of officer