LexHARJEET SINGH ETC versus UNION OF INDIA AND ORS.
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i 459 HARJEET SINGH ETC. '" UNION OF INDIA AND ORS. April 11, 1980 [V. R. KRISHNA ]YER AND 0. CHINNAPPA REDDY, JJ.] Indian Police Servtce (Regulation of Seniority) Rules-Rule 3 (3) (b )- Validity of A B Indian Police Service (Fixation of Cadre S~rength) Regulations, 1955- Regulations 7 to 9-Year oj allotment service in non-cadre posts not considered -Whether such a service would constitute a break for fixing t~e year of allot- ment-JVhether over-utilisation of deputation und Central reserve quota relevant C (joft fixing tlie year of allotment, when once the officer has continuously officiated in a Senior Post-Whether offends Articles 14 and 16 of the Con~ stitution. Indian Police Service (Fixation of Cadre Strength) Regulations-Regulutions 7 to 9 of 1955 and Indian Police Service (Cadre) Rules, 1954, µule 4(1), Scope ~ D On seleciion by the Punjab Public Service Commission B. R. Kapur (appel- lant in CA 2413178) and Harjeet Singh (Appellant in CA 2526177) were directly recruited in 1951, as Deputy Superintendents of Police in the Punj.lb Police Service. B. R. Kapur \Vas senior to Harjeet Singh as Deputy Superin- tendent of Police. In 1960, both of them were included in the Select List prepared under Regulation 7 of the Indian Police Service, (Appointment by E Promotion) Regulations, 1955. On November 24, 1960, B~ R. Kapur was appointed as A'Ssista.I1t Inspector General of Police which post was a cadre post In May 1961 he was appointed to a non-cadre post as Director of Sports and Youth Programme and Deputy Secretary to Government, Sports Department. He held this post upto November 18, 1962, and thereafter he was appQinted as Additional Controller of Stores, Punjab which was also a non<.Odre post. He continued to hold the post of Additional Controller of F Stores till 1965, loom July 19, 1965 he was Commandant, 40th Battalion PAP, J & K which was a cadre post. He held the post till July 11, 1966 when he took over as Commandant of 25th Battalion PAP. On the reorgani- sation of the State of Punjab, he was appointed as Assistsant General of Police, State of Punjab from November l, 1966. Thereafter he continuously held cadre posts and was finally appcinted to. the Indian Police Sen'ice with effect from September 3, 1969. Shri Harjeet Singh was appointed to officiate IS G Superintendent of Police in December 1960. 1'he post was a cadre post. He continued to hold a cadre post till he \Vas appointed to the Indian Police Service- with effect from September 3, 1969. P...ftec the· l\\'O officers were appointed to the Indian Police Service the ques- tion of assignment of year of allotment and fixation of seniority arQ6C for the consideration of the Government of India. Shri B. R. Kapur was allotted the year 1963 and placed below Sube Singh and above S. R. Sharma (direcl recruits) in the Jndian Police Service, counting his continuoUs officiating service from 1-11-66 only, as service in a senior cadre post and not his service in the H 460 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1980] 3 S.C.R. A non-cadre post. In the case of Harject Singh, though he admittedly officiated continuously in a senior cadre post from December 1960, he was also allotted to the year 1963 and placed below Sri Kapur on the ground that he ranked ~elo¥/ Sri Kapur in the select list. Kapur and Harjeet Singh filed \\Tit petitions in the· High Court of PlUljab and Haryana quelltioning the allotment of the year 1963. The Writ Petitions B were· accepted. The Court directed the Union and Punjab Government& to redetermine the year of allotment and seniority of J-Jarjeet Singh and Kapur taking December 17, 1960 and July 29, 1965 respectively as the dates of their continuous officiation in '-!. senior post. A further direction was issued that before redetcrn1ining the seniority of the two officials, the respondents to the Writ Petitions \.Vho were direct recruits should be afforded an opp0rtunity to make their representation. c D E F G H Appeals under clause· 10 of the Letters Patent were filed by the affected direct recruits as also by B. R. Kapur. The direct recruits contended that neither B. R. Kapur nor Harjeet Singh would have ever started officiating in the senior post on the daks from V.'hich they officiated or claimed to have officiated in senior posts, if the State Governments had not created artificial vacancies by exces~ive utilisation of the "deputation and central reserve" quota
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