Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Oct 18: State High Court has dismissed petition filed by a Special Police Officer (SPO) seeking regularization of services with the observation that three years of satisfactory and regular service is imperative for obtaining such a benefit.
The petitioner Mohd Iqbal was engaged as SPO in the State Police in the year 1997 and on the basis of certificates of satisfactory performance issued in his favour by senior police officers he sought his regularization as constable on the analogy of SPOs of Doda district.
However, Additional Advocate General (AAG) Wasim Sadiq Nargal appearing for the Home Department argued that the petitioner was disengaged from the roll of SPOs in the year 2000 as he was not performing his duties satisfactorily being habitual of remaining absent from the duty.
“The petitioner having been disengaged for unsatisfactory service is not entitled to regularization as per the guidelines issued in this regard”, AAG said, adding “moreover, the petitioner didn’t fulfill requirement of having minimum three years of engagement to his credit for consideration to regularization”.
After hearing AAG Wasim Sadiq Nargal for the Home Department and Senior Advocate Surinder Kour along with Advocate Vandana Kumari for the petitioner, Justice Janak Raj Kotwal observed, “the stand of the respondents that petitioner was disengaged has not been denied by the petitioner”, adding “instructions in regard to regularization/rehabilitation of SPOs issued by the Home Department would show that the SPOs with minimum three years of engagement shall be considered for appointment as constable or followers on the basis of their excellence performance in counter insurgency operations”.
“The petitioner undisputedly was engaged as SPO on July 1, 1997 and it is not denied that he was disengaged with effect from May 15, 2000. He, therefore didn’t complete three years of his engagement as SPO and cannot claim regularization”, Justice Kotwal said.
“The disengagement order produced by the respondents would show that the petitioner and number of other SPOs were disengaged for not performing their duties satisfactorily and being habitual absentees”, Justice Kotwal said, adding “on that score also petitioner cannot claim regularization and question of parity doesn’t arise at all”.
With these observations, Justice Kotwal dismissed the petition.
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