- (1.) The petitioner in the writ application as also the appellants in the appeal were erstwhile Sergeants in the police service of the State of Bihar and are now designated as Reserve Sub-Inspectors. Admittedly, the Police Manual of 1930 framed under the Police Act of 1861 contained the relevant rules applicable to the police force. Under that Manual, there used to be a cadre called Sergeants who were recruited directly and were eligible for promotion to the rank of Sergeant-Major. There used to be another category known as Havildars who were eligible for promotion as Jamadars. In 1978, a new Police Manual was introduced replacing the old Manual. Under R. 639 of this Manual, the State Police Force is grouped into the following categories "SUPERIOR OFFICERS 1. The Inspector General 2. Additional Inspector General 3. Deputy Inspector General 4. Superintendents 5. Assistant Superintendents 6. Deputy Superintendents 7. Reserve Inspectors and other Inspectors OTHER OFFICERS 8. Reserve Sub-Inspectors 9. Sub-Inspectors 10. Assistant Sub-Inspectors 11. Havildars 12. Naiks 13. Constables. According to the scheme of the 1978 Manual 50 per cent of the posts of Reserve Sub-Inspectors (excluding Reserve Sub-Inspectors - Transport) has to be filled up by promotion from the rank of Havildars and the remaining 50 per cent is reserved for direct recruitment. Though the Police Manual is intended to cover the entire field of the State Police Force (except the Bihar Armed Police which is an establishment constituted under a separate statute) and Jamadars are not known to the police ranks. The High Court has found, and there is no dispute before us, that more than a thousand Jamadars are still in service in the regular police establishment. We have been told at the Bar that the nomenclature of Jamadar is still correct as a category of police officers under the Bihar Armed Police Act but in these cases, we are not concerned with Jamadars of the Armed Police Act.
(2.) The State Government of Bihar created 118 posts of Subedars in August, 1979 and directed that Sergeants who by then had come to be known as Reserve Sub-Inspectors under the 1978 Manual would not be eligible for consideration for promotion to these posts of Subedars. There is no serious dispute that conditions of service of the Subedars are same as that of the Inspectors. Petitioners who are now Reserve Sub-Inspectors contend that they are eligible for promotion and the order excluding them from consideration is bad and violative of the equality contemplated under Art. 16 of the Constitution.
(3.) These cases have a chequered career but it is unnecessary to refer to it.;