The Uttarakhand High Court has recently dismissed a PIL seeking directions to the respondents to initiate recruitment process for the post of Sub-Inspectors and Constables in the Police Department.
On bare perusal of the reliefs prayed for by the petitioner, the Division Bench of Chief Justice Raghvendra Singh Chauhan and Justice Narayan Singh Dhanik held that neither of the first two prayers can be granted by the Court by issuance of the writ of mandamus to the respondents.
The PIL filed by one Rameshwar Kandwal @ Ram Kandwal had sought the following reliefs:
i) Issue a writ, order or direction in the nature of mandamus directing the respondents to initiate the recruitment process for the post of Sub-Inspectors and Constables in Police Department at the earliest within stipulated period as deemed fit and proper by this Court.
ii) Issue a writ, order or direction in the nature of mandamus commanding and directing the respondents to provide age relaxation in the recruitment process for the post of Constables and Sub-Inspectors and for the post of Constable the age limit may be prescribed as 18 to 28 years and for the post of Sub-Inspector the age limit may be prescribed as 21 to 33 years.
iii) Issue any other order or direction which this Hon’ble Court may deem fit and proper in the circumstances of the case.
iv) Award cost of the petition.
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The first relief relates to the initiation of the recruitment process for the post of Sub-Inspector and Constable in the Police Department. However, the Court observed that it is a settled position of service jurisprudence that the issues whether to commence the recruitment process or not and, whether to take it to its logical conclusion or not, are well within the discretionary power of the employer. Therefore, no mandamus can be issued by the Court.
The second relief relates to directing the respondents to provide age relaxation in the recruitment process for the said posts. However, the Court further observed that age relaxation can be provided only by a provision of law. Since, there is no provision of law in the Service Rules governing the post of Sub-Inspector and Constable, and since the judiciary is not empowered to direct the Executive or the Legislature to legislate or to insert a provision of law, even the second prayer cannot be granted by the High Court.
For the reasons stated above, the Court does not find any merit in the writ petition and dismissed the PIL.