- (1.) HEARD counsel for the parties.
(2.) THE petitioner has approached this Court with a prayer for directing the respondents to promote him to the rank of Inspector of Police from the date on which he is found eligible or at least from the date several persons junior to him such as private respondents, have been promoted. During the pendency of the writ application, the petitioner was granted promotion on the post of Inspector with effect from 27th November 2006 and was placed in the seniority list at serial no. 116 A1'. According to the petitioner, he ought to have been granted promotion with effect from 27th February 2003 as on that date, petitioner was not facing any departmental enquiry or was inflicted with any punishment. It is submitted on his behalf that in the order by which other persons were promoted to the post of Inspector including respondent nos. 9 and 10 with effect from 9th May 2003, it was indicated that those incumbents on the post of Sub -Inspector who were not facing departmental enquiry or punishment, shall be promoted with effect from 27th February 2003. According to the petitioner, he has not faced any departmental enquiry, nor has been punished as such in any such proceeding. In spite of that, the petitioner has been promoted from a much later date than 27th February 2003 or 9th May 2003 whereas the private respondents were promoted who, according to him, are junior to him. All these facts were brought to the notice of the court on 16th January 2013 and respondents were allowed time to obtain instruction and file counter affidavit.
(3.) IN the supplementary counter affidavit filed on their behalf on 08th July 2013, they have taken a stand that the respondent no. 10 - Jai Prakash Sharma was promoted to the post of Sub Inspector of Police with effect from 14th February 1979 while the petitioner was promoted to the post of Sub Inspector of Police with effect from 01st April 1982. Therefore, the petitioner should not be entitled to claim promotion either with effect from 27th February 2003 or with effect from 09th May 2003 as he was junior to the respondent no. 10. They have also relied upon the seniority list published in the year 2010, as per which, the said respondent no. 10 is at serial no. 187.;