Court orders: Sindh IG asked not to hold promotions committee meeting
Stay order issued on committee’s decision to promote 280 police officials.
Stay order issued on committee’s decision to promote 280 police officials.
KARACHI:
Sindh IGP has been asked by the court to refrain from holding a meeting of promotions committee that was scheduled to consider the promotions of over 280 police officials.
These DSPs, including those reverted on the orders of the Supreme Court when it declared out-of-turn promotions as illegal, were supposed to be promoted to the ranks of SPs. DSP Chaudhry Aslam and DSP Farooq Awan were among those officials whose promotions were expected.
On Friday, Justice Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi, who headed the single high court bench, also issued notices to the chief secretary and secretaries of home, and services and general administration departments to file their comments.
A female DSP, Azra Memon, had challenged this meeting of the police department’s promotions committee being convened next month to consider the promotions of police officers allegedly in violation of service rules. The petitioner was appointed on September 1, 1979, on probation as a female police inspector and was confirmed at this post on August 15, 1992. Later, all female police officers were merged in the general cadre through an official order issued on February 2, 2010.
Memon mentioned that a separate women police cadre was created later in the police force by the provincial home department in February 1998 and an official notification to this effect was issued on February 2 the same year.
The departmental promotion committee had on March 2, 2010, promoted the petitioner to the rank of a DSP on the basis of seniority-cum-fitness. Thus, she was allowed to have the benefits of Rule 13 of the Sindh Civil Servants (Probation, Confirmation and Seniority) Rules 1975. Her present rank of DSP had taken effect from October 13, 2002.
Memon told the judges that according to a notification issued on November 6, 2008, about her seniority, she stood on the serial number nine of the list, while her badge-mate DSP Samia Zafar Zuberi stood below her on serial number 10. Zuberi’s date of confirmation as inspector and promotion to the rank of DSP is the same as that of the petitioner, she said.
On August 15, the department issued a notification which revised the seniority list of the DSPs - it showed Zuberi as number one and Memon on number 62, she claimed in the petition. Memon has filed her representation along with documentary evidences within 30 days of this new seniority list but, she claimed, that no action has been taken.
“Now, the defendants are convening a departmental promotions committee’s meeting to consider the cases for promotion of the DSPs to the next higher rank of the SP,” she stated. “This act is patently illegal and unwarranted.”
According to the petitioner, the officers have been given 30 days to file their representation along with evidence for their promotions. This deadline expires on September 15, she pointed out. Memon pleaded the court direct the authorities consider her objections regarding seniority of junior officers.
After the initial hearing, Justice Rizvi issued notices to various secretaries to file their comments by August 28. Until then, the bench restrained the defendants from convening any meeting of the DPS to consider promotions cases.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 24th, 2013.
Sindh IGP has been asked by the court to refrain from holding a meeting of promotions committee that was scheduled to consider the promotions of over 280 police officials.
These DSPs, including those reverted on the orders of the Supreme Court when it declared out-of-turn promotions as illegal, were supposed to be promoted to the ranks of SPs. DSP Chaudhry Aslam and DSP Farooq Awan were among those officials whose promotions were expected.
On Friday, Justice Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi, who headed the single high court bench, also issued notices to the chief secretary and secretaries of home, and services and general administration departments to file their comments.
A female DSP, Azra Memon, had challenged this meeting of the police department’s promotions committee being convened next month to consider the promotions of police officers allegedly in violation of service rules. The petitioner was appointed on September 1, 1979, on probation as a female police inspector and was confirmed at this post on August 15, 1992. Later, all female police officers were merged in the general cadre through an official order issued on February 2, 2010.
Memon mentioned that a separate women police cadre was created later in the police force by the provincial home department in February 1998 and an official notification to this effect was issued on February 2 the same year.
The departmental promotion committee had on March 2, 2010, promoted the petitioner to the rank of a DSP on the basis of seniority-cum-fitness. Thus, she was allowed to have the benefits of Rule 13 of the Sindh Civil Servants (Probation, Confirmation and Seniority) Rules 1975. Her present rank of DSP had taken effect from October 13, 2002.
Memon told the judges that according to a notification issued on November 6, 2008, about her seniority, she stood on the serial number nine of the list, while her badge-mate DSP Samia Zafar Zuberi stood below her on serial number 10. Zuberi’s date of confirmation as inspector and promotion to the rank of DSP is the same as that of the petitioner, she said.
On August 15, the department issued a notification which revised the seniority list of the DSPs - it showed Zuberi as number one and Memon on number 62, she claimed in the petition. Memon has filed her representation along with documentary evidences within 30 days of this new seniority list but, she claimed, that no action has been taken.
“Now, the defendants are convening a departmental promotions committee’s meeting to consider the cases for promotion of the DSPs to the next higher rank of the SP,” she stated. “This act is patently illegal and unwarranted.”
According to the petitioner, the officers have been given 30 days to file their representation along with evidence for their promotions. This deadline expires on September 15, she pointed out. Memon pleaded the court direct the authorities consider her objections regarding seniority of junior officers.
After the initial hearing, Justice Rizvi issued notices to various secretaries to file their comments by August 28. Until then, the bench restrained the defendants from convening any meeting of the DPS to consider promotions cases.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 24th, 2013.