The Punjab and Haryana High Court have stayed the order of the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) Chandigarh, whereby the Director-General of Police (DGP) has been directed to allow two constables, who are facing departmental inquiries, to attend a Lower School Training Programme. The training programme is a mandatory condition for their promotion to the post of head constable. Constables Jagjit Singh and Jagjinder Singh had approached the CAT Chandigarh Bench after their names were not included in the programme list. They said that they had been serving on the post of constable in the Chandigarh Police for many years. Both of them are facing departmental enquiries. As the inquires are still pending, the DGP excluded their names from List-B for the training programme. List-B is released by the DGP every few years to fill vacancies. Those on the list are trained at the Police Training College to select constables for promotion. The course is one of the basic prerequisites for promoting constables to the post of head constable. The CAT Chandigarh Bench, after hearing their plea, allowed their petition and directed the DGP to allow them to attend the course. However. the Chandigarh Administration filed an appeal against the CAT order before the HC through Senior Standing Counsel Anil Mehta. The HC bench of Justice GS Sandhawalia, and Justice Vikas Suri, after hearing the matter held, “It has been brought to the notice of this Court that the course has already started on December 13, 2021, which is for one month…In such circumstances, the Tribunal shall not enforce the order till the next date of hearing.” The matter was listed further on February 8, 2022.
