26-Year Police Seniority Battle Finally Ends in High Court

A complex police seniority dispute that began before Haryana became a separate state has finally concluded after 26 years of legal battles. The Punjab and Haryana High Court refused to overturn promotions that were granted more than thirty years ago.

The case started in 1999 when Inspector Karan Singh and other officers challenged the State of Haryana regarding seniority issues. Justice Jagmohan Bansal heard the petition and traced the problem back to the 1960s, when these officers originally worked with Punjab Police from 1961 to 1967.

When their posts were eliminated, these officers were offered positions with the Border Security Force, but they refused. The Punjab government then relieved them from service. After Haryana formed as a separate state in 1966, the new Haryana government allowed these officers to join the Haryana Police Force in 1968.

The transferred officers demanded that their previous service with Punjab Police should count toward their pension, seniority, and other benefits in Haryana Police. They filed court petitions that were initially successful. The matter went to the Supreme Court, which sent it back to the High Court with instructions to include all affected parties.

On July 8, 1997, the High Court made a final decision on the matter. The transferred officers were granted seniority and received promotions accordingly. However, this decision upset other police officers who felt they were unfairly pushed down in the seniority list.

After that, the petitioner officers went to court to request that the October 14, 1991 order that gave the transferred officers seniority be revoked. They claimed that officers who had been with the Haryana Police for the entire time without any breaks were being treated unfairly by these promotions. Justice Bansal made the decision not to alter the current arrangements after going over the case history, which spans several decades. The court believed that abrupt career advancements and promotions after such a long period would cause more issues than they would fix.