- (1.)This bunch of writ petitions has questioned the promotion of the private respondents to the post of TPS Grade-II officers (Group A gazetted). According to the writ petitioners, the State respondents promoted the private respondents dohors the statutory mandate contained in Rule 14 and Rule 5 of the Tripura Police Service Rules, 1967 and also flouted the judgment and orders dtd. 30/11/2011, passed by learned Single Judge in WP(C) No. 195/2010 and WP(C) No.440/2010 [Annexure P/4 to the writ petition No. 157/2013, which on appeal was also confirmed by the writ appellate Court [Annexure P/5 to the writ petition No.157/2013] respectively.
(2.)The petitioners further challenged the illegal and arbitrary application of Rule 34 of the Tripura Police Service Rules. The facts, leading to the presentation of this bunch of writ petitions, sans unnecessary details, may be set out here-in-below, for convenience:
(i) The petitioners are the members, belonging to the unreserved category (UR) and after completing their respective graduation, had applied for appointment to the substantive post of Naib Subedar in the Tripura State Riffles (TSR, for short). After maintaining necessary formalities, on being selected, the petitioners joined the substantive post of Naib Subedar, as a direct recruit on diverse dates in the year 1997. Mentionably, the recruitment rules, statutorily framed under the Tripura State Riffles Act, prescribed that for direct entry of General and Scheduled Castes category candidates, to the post of Naib Subedar, a candidate must be a graduate.

(ii) During the continuation of their satisfactory service as Naib Subedar, all the petitioners were promoted to the post of Subedar on 13/1/2004.

(iii) For ready reference, the educational qualifications, the respective dates of joining to the post of Naib Subedar as direct recruits and the respective dates of joining in the promoted post of Subedar of the petitioners, are put up below:

(3.)All the petitioners are graduates and have completed their five years of service, in the post of subedar on 12/1/2009.
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