Judgment

Banerjee, J.—Leave granted.

2. The irksome issue as regards the criterion of selection though placed before the Court on occasions innumerable but the debate is still on. The matters presently before this Court pertain to the promotion of police officers from Sub-Inspector to Inspector in the State of U.P. in 1997 for vacancies for the period between 1992 and 1996 and said to be upon due completion of elaborate selection process - it is however this process which stands scrutiny before this Court. Whereas the learned Single Judge negated the selections and allowed the grievance of the writ petitioners upon recording of a categorical finding that the selection has caused great injustice to the senior Sub-Inspectors who had a totally unblemish service record - the appellate Bench in a very detailed judgment recorded an affirmation to the judgment of the learned Single Judge though for different set of reasons to wit, that the criteria for selection "seniority subject to the rejection of the unfit" as laid down in the Rules was not followed and secondly that Selection Committee failed to prepare the list for each year, keeping in view the number of vacancies in that year after