The Gujarat High Court has directed the state government to take immediate steps to fill existing vacancies in the police force.
The court’s order came in response to a public interest litigation (PIL) filed in 2019, seeking directions to fill vacancies in the police department.
According to the affidavit filed by the Inspector General of Police (Admin), the state government had taken steps to fill the vacancies, with 1029 candidates being promoted to various posts between December 7, 2024, and January 8, 2025.
However, the court noted that there were still 2,710 vacancies remaining, and the reasons for not filling these vacancies had not been indicated in the affidavit.
The Division Bench of Chief Justice Sunita Agarwal and Justice Pranav Trivedi directed the state government to file an affidavit providing the correct and complete data on the proposal for filling up all direct recruitment posts that were currently vacant.
The government was also directed to take immediate steps to fill the vacancies, particularly in the posts of Police Inspector (Unarmed) and Police Inspector (Armed), where a Departmental Promotion Committee had already made recommendations.
The court emphasized the need to streamline the process of direct recruitment exercises for different posts in the police establishment, as the lack of sufficient candidates in the feeder cadre was a major reason for the vacancies.
The matter has been listed for further hearing on January 31, 2025.