Srinagar. Sept 17: The Supreme Court has dismissed the pleas of the J&K Government challenging the Division Bench of the High Court’s judgment regarding the absorption of hundreds of constables (operators) in the J&K Police, whose services were terminated following writ court directions back in 2014.
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The 10-year-long legal battle reached its conclusion as the apex court upheld the High Court’s directions, stating that the affected candidates must be considered for the posts subject to their suitability and performance benchmarks in the recruitment process under the 2007 advertisement.
Supreme Court’s Observation
A bench comprising Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sandeep Mehta noted: “The Division Bench is very precise and discreet in issuing the direction that the private respondents would only be considered subject to their suitability and attaining the benchmark in terms of the performance in the recruitment process pursuant to advertisement dated March 9, 2007.”
High Court’s Directions
The High Court had earlier ordered that 151 candidates serving as Wireless Assistants be appointed as constables (operators) on a regular basis against vacant posts. Their appointments would be effective notionally from their initial appointment date, but without back wages.
It was further clarified that those already appointed as constables (operator) after January 19, 2017, would not be disturbed, and would remain senior in the service hierarchy. The seniority list must be prepared on a state-level merit basis, reflecting the comparative merit of candidates regardless of their appointment district or date.
Background of the Case
The issue stemmed from the 2007 recruitment process for 1,126 posts of constables (operators). However, only 925 candidates were included in the select list, which was drawn up on a district-wise basis. This was challenged by excluded candidates, who argued that the advertisement required preparation of a state-level select list.
The High Court in 2014 had quashed the earlier select list and directed redrawing of the merit list on a state-wide basis. Subsequent litigation reached the Supreme Court multiple times until the present decision, which has now settled the matter.
The apex court concluded: “In that view of the matter, we are not inclined to interfere with the impugned orders passed by the High Court. Accordingly, the Special Leave Petitions are dismissed.”
Source: Court Documents
Labels: Supreme Court, J&K Police, Recruitment, High Court
Tags: #SupremeCourt #JKPolice #Recruitment #Judgement #Law
Disclaimer: This article is a rewritten summary based on court proceedings. Jammu News Portal does not assume responsibility for the accuracy of external content.
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