The Gujarat High Court recently issued an order in a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed in 2019, expressing concerns over the delay in the recruitment process for police personnel in the state.
The Division Bench of Chief Justice Sunita Agarwal and Justice Pranav Trivedi took note of the affidavit filed by the Additional Director General of Police (Admin), which stated that there were approximately 25,660 vacancies in different cadres of the police force.
The court observed that the recruitment process for these vacancies was to be completed in two phases, with the first phase initiated through an advertisement dated March 12, 2024.
However, the court expressed dissatisfaction with the pace of the recruitment process, particularly for the post of Police Sub-Inspector (Unarmed), for which there were only 475 vacancies.
The court noted that the physical test for the recruitment process was expected to be completed by March 2025, followed by a written test, and that the final select list would be declared after the completion of the written test.
However, the court felt that a more detailed calendar for the completion of the selection process was required.
To address these concerns, the court directed the Additional Director General of Police (Admin) to file a personal affidavit providing a clear and complete chart showing the breakup of the recruitment process post-wise.
The court also sought a cadre-wise break-up of the completion of the recruitment process for the second phase of direct recruitment, which was to fill 14,283 vacancies.
The court listed the matter for further hearing on February 14, 2025, and directed the filing of the affidavit on the same date.