Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, July 6: High Court today issued notice to Government for filing of response to the plea seeking investigation through Central Bureau of Investigation into illegal appointments of SPOs as constables for the last three years in police department.
The Division Bench of Justice Ali Mohammad Magrey and Justice Vinod Chatterji Koul after hearing the counsel for petitioner Sandeep Mawa through his counsel Soleh Peerzada issued notice to Chief Secretary, Principal Secretary Home, Director General of Police J&K and SSP Anantnag for filing of response to the contentions raised in the PIL with regard to making illegal appointments of constables in J&K Police Department.
It has been submitted before the court that SSP Anantnag in league and connivance with DGP has recruited/ appointed the Special Police Officers (SPOs) who were working on consolidated wages, as Constables illegally in the Police Department on the basis of operational functions in the districts of Anantnag, Pulwama, Shopian and Kulgam.
Court has been informed that these persons recruited / selected / appointed on the basis of operational functions were either working as SPOs with the high-profile bureaucrats or were performing the duties at the residences of police officers or many other bureaucrats. “By indulging in this act, DGP and SSP Anantnag have indulged in mass scale irregularities in appointing them as constables and as such the opaque manner in which both the officials have filled up the vacancies of constables amongst SPOs is bad in law and against the spirit of fair selection / appointment”, Court has been informed.
It has further been submitted by the petitioner-Counsel that there is gross manipulation in selection / appointments to various ranks in the Police Department especially from the rank of SPOs to constables as had been done in the year 2018 to 2020.
“The appointees are illegally shown to have participated in Operational Duties, particularly in South Kashmir, when there is no scope of their proximity in the field operations”, the plea said.
“That the Police Department, i.e., Director General of Police, Jammu & Kashmir Government, has neither uploaded the orders of these Constables on website as on date which manifests malice and arbitrariness on the part of respondent no. 3 and 4, nor has the list whereby these appointees were originally working as SPOs been made public”.
Petitioner sought that Chief Secretary and Principal Secretary Home be directed to initiate inquiry into the matter and file a status report before Court in relation to the induction of SPOs as constables in the cadres of Police Department during the years 2018, 2019 up to March, 2020.
It is further sought that the list of persons / candidates who have been recruited / appointed on the basis of operational functions by DGP and SSP Anantnag during last three years may be submitted to the Court in order to see the veracity of truth.
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