HC suspends seniority list of MPS officers
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, July 28 2019: A Single Bench of the High Court of Manipur has suspended the final seniority list of Manipur Police Service (MPS) officers issued by the Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms (Personnel Division) on June 29 this year, apart from issuing notice to the respondents (State Government represented by Chief Secretary, Special Secretary/ Principal Secretary/Commissioner, Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms and Deputy Secretary) directing them to file counter affidavits.

The High Court order was passed on July 25 and P Tamphamani, appearing on behalf of the respondents, accepted the notice while Advocate S Sasi, assisting A Bimol, accepted the notice on behalf of three officials respondents.

The Court further directed the petitioner of the writ petition to take necessary steps for serving the notice to the remaining official respondents of the case by speed post as well.

It may be mentioned that the writ petition challenged the order issued on June 29 this year by the Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms (Personnel Division) regarding the final seniority list of Manipur Police Service ( MPS) officers wherein the petitioner was shown as junior to the private respondents.

The petitioner is a promotee who was appointed as MPS Grade II on March 1, 2007, while the private/ official respondents are direct recruit MPS Grade II who were appointed on August 14 the same year which resulted in the petitioner claiming seniority over the private respondents on the ground that he was appointed at an earlier point of time than the private respondents.

The State Government enacted the Manipur Police Service Rules, 1965, which deals with appointment and seniority list in respect of both direct as well as promotees in Manipur Police Service.

The State respondents issued a final seniority list of MPS officers in March 2007 and thereafter a tentative seniority list of MPS officers was issued on December 19, 2009 .

Aggrieved with the order, the present petitioner filed a writ petition during the said period and it was eventually disposed by an order of the Court on February 18, 2013, directing the State respondents to finalize the inter-se seniority list of MPS Grade II officers in accordance with the law within a period of 45 days.

Accordingly, the State Government respondents issued a tentative seniority list of MPS officers appointed as on March 1, 2013, by following the principle of dovetailing system and another order in supersession of all previous orders publishing the tentative seniority list of MPS Grade II, was issued the next day.

Thereafter the Court permitted the respondents to convene a DPC for promotion to the post of MPS Grade I but directed them to keep the proceedings inside a sealed cover.

However the respondents, instead of keeping the proceedings in a sealed cover, declared the result of the DPC on February 19, 2014, and issued promotion to the private respondents which led to a writ petition being filed before the Court praying for quashing the entire proceeding of the DPC and the order issued on February 19, 2014.The petition was disposed of by a judgment order which quashed and set aside the Government order of April 17, January 20, 2014 and February 20, 2014 with a few directions The State respondents did not appeal against the judgment order of July 17, 2017, however, some private respondents filed a petition against the judgment order.

At that relevant point of time, no Division Bench was available before the High Court of Manipur and as such, the private respondents moved to transfer the petition before the Guwahati High Court.

But the Division Bench of the High Court of Manipur disposed the case by upholding the order passed by Single Bench, High Court of Manipur.

As there was no compliance to the order of the Single Bench and the order passed by the Division Bench, a contempt petition was filed by the petitioner and during period of the said contempt petition, the State respondents issued an order on June 29 this year which resulted in the present writ petition.

The petition mentioned that the order issued on June 29 is a total violation of the directives passed by the High Court of Manipur on July 17, 2017, as well as the judgment order of the Division Bench Guwahati High Court and therefore, the petitioner prayed for an interim order suspending the June 29 order.

On the other hand, the State respondents jointly submitted that the order by which the final seniority list of MPS officers (as on October 1, 2013) was published, was strictly done in terms of the principle laid down by the Supreme Court of India.

The petitioner's counsel however submitted that the same is not applicable in the present case.

The Single Bench, after hearing both sides, suspended the June 29 order till the next returnable date and fixed August 29 for the next hearing.

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